Norway’s triumphant Greens Party opted on Thursday to start negotiations with the Labour and Socialist Left (SV) parties on forming or at least supporting a new city government in Oslo.
The environmentally oriented Greens view themselves as independent with no firm affiliations with either the left or right side of Norwegian politics. After their strong showings in local elections around the country last week, they’ve sided with the Conservative blocs in some communities and socialist blocs in others.
In Oslo, where Labour is trying to form a new coalition government, the Greens have been talking with all the other parties represented on the city council, to find out which can give them the most support on their climate and environmental initiatives. Talks ended Monday and the Greens have held internal discussions since.
“We’ve had good conversations with all the parties this past week,” Lan Marie Nguyen Berg, head of the Greens’ Oslo delegation, announced Thursday. “We think we can get the most by cooperating with Labour and SV.”
The decision comes as no surprise, after outgoing Conservative Mayor Fabian Stang said that the Greens have generally voted with Labour and the other socialist parties on most issues. The Conservatives didn’t give up on a cooperation with the Greens, but on Wednesday, when the outgoing coalition they led presented next year’s city budget, the Greens claimed it wasn’t “green enough” for them.
“We ran on a platform that Oslo should be a zero-emissions city by 2030,” Berg told state broadcaster NRK. “What we’ll negotiate now, is what kinds of things we can get underway to achieve that.” A new government is expected to be in place by mid-October.
newsinenglish.no staff
