– Do not dare to predict – V.G

TRONDHEIM (VG) Trond Giske’s local team in Trondheim attracts disaffected members of the Labor Party. He himself would not rule out re-election.

– says the kitchen on the 4th floor of Folkets Hus in Trondheim.

Former Ap vice president Trond Giske stands in the pan, lifting hot hearts from the waffle iron.

The audience was a group of adult women from the Labor Party’s Nidaros Sosialdemokratisk forum, who together with Giske organized a meeting about the policy of the elderly.

– Who usually cooks waffles?

– It’s us girls, it turns out.

Exactly one year ago, Nitaros had no members. Giske then agreed to become the local team leader.

Nitaros has 2,200 members, according to Kiske, as Labor continues to hit new bottoms in the polls.

Come back?

According to VG Half of the members live in Nidaros, outside Trøndelag.

The work of deciding that is now actively going on in Andhra Pradesh Overseas members Empower teams like Nidaros in the municipal, district and national assembly.

Until Christmas, Kiske will receive severance pay from the Storting while he completes a master’s degree in political science. So?

– I don’t know that yet, he tells VG.

– What are your chances of being re-elected?

Kiske shoulder.

– When I resigned in 2020, I thought that I will not be involved in politics again. I was wrong there. I dare not predict, really. But I don’t have any immediate plans, that’s for sure, says Giske.

I will not be involved in politics after the New Year. All of this at Nidaros is unpaid and voluntary, he adds.

Back to Waffle Kitchen:

– There are waffle irons emblazoned with the Labor Party logo, says Giske.

The crowd in the kitchen wasn’t too keen on getting it.

Nitaros’ number of agitated members is not unique: in Labour’s largest local body, not everyone is so happy about Labour.

On Nidaros’ Facebook page, someone suggests that Ap can be a member of Nidaros without being a central member.

Others were disappointed to receive a greeting from app chief and prime minister Jonas Kahr Store.

Many suggest that Kiske should start his own party. He himself denies it.

– This is very different from what I have in mind as a grand coalition. When all environments and generations come together, we are stronger.

– Next year I will be with Ap for 40 years. Kiske says he would like to celebrate both 40 and 50 years as an Ap member.

“Hine Trond”

Han Stein stands behind the waffle and cake table.

He has been called “Hine Trond” since childhood, the North of Dovre, and says he signed up to support his policies.

– I’ve always liked Labor Party politics, until…

– Until when?

– Until then, many things happened a few years ago, says Stene.

“A few years ago” was 2018, when Giske resigned as vice president following complaints of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior.

AP later concluded that Giske had broken the party’s internal guidelines against sexual harassment in several cases.

Kiske expressed regret for the inappropriate and unpleasant incidents. But he has denied allegations of sexual harassment and characterized some of the reports as baseless and false.

– Stene says that this was an additional motivation to join Nidaros and continues:

– I think we should support the politics in Nidaros and not allow room for personal attacks, that is part of it.

Support group for Trond

Durit Ersfjord, who has been an Ap member for many years, tells how he ended up in Nidaros:

– Two years ago I joined the support group, he says.

– Which support group? To Trond, right?

– Yes, it started. Then it became Nidaros, he says.

Two weeks ago NRK’s ​​broadcast of “The Debate” was the subject of both Meodo and the historically low support for Ap.

Then AUF leader Astrid Holm said she believed Giske was part of the cause of Labour’s crisis – and was later reaped. Support by Jonas Gahr Støre.

– I fear that all personal discussions will stand in the way of the most important thing, politics and the lives of voters, says Giske.

That’s a recipe for doing it badly, he believes.

When asked if the broken Meadoo cases in 2018 and 2020 are a closed chapter for Trøndelag Ap, Giske replies:

– This is not because I do not have support, but because some media published completely undocumented cases.

She filed complaints against five newspapers with the Journalism Professional Committee last year after cases related to reports against Giske from women in Trondheim Ap. The conclusion is that the newspapers did not violate good journalistic practice.

– Support from the party people in Trendelák is not lacking. They think I’ve had a good relationship with myself throughout, says Giske.

– Do you think the party in Trøndelag is completely over with Meadow?

– I have no opinion on that. It should be about the thing, not the person.

– Do you think it’s sad that the government is behaving so badly?

– Of course. It’s terrible. I am deeply concerned. It does not matter that a party remains so large. There are many examples of a party climate and disappearance, Giske continues:

– I firmly believe that social democratic values ​​and program are durable and will withstand adversity.

– I believe we will return, but it will take time.

More popular than Ap

According to Kiske, it was the municipal party in Trondheim that decided that the team should be called the Nitaros Social Democratic Forum, not the Nitaros Labor Team or the Nitaros Labor Party.

On the local team’s website, the word Arbeiderpartiet is not mentioned often. Kiske says he hasn’t thought about it.

– Is Labor so unpopular that it’s best to create its own identity?

– No, as I said, Nitaro’s Labor Party wants to be called. Giske says all registrants register through Ap’s website and receive a welcome video from the party leader.

– You insist that Nidaros is “Norway’s biggest local team”, but what did you not write?

Giske laughs.

– We are probably the biggest local team regardless of party, he adds:

– I’ll be very unassuming and I think people who see my name and greetings from me know I’m in the Labor Party.