Progress Party captures Northern Norway

The Progress Party (FrP) is continuing to beat the ruling Labour Party on its own turf. In the three northernmost counties, normally Labour territory, 39 per cent of the voters would have voted FrP, while only 19 per cent would support Labour. This is shown by a survey made by Opinion for the Labour Press in the North.The poll is taken this week, and shows that in the county of Troms, 41.3 per cent of the electorate would have voted for FrP, while in Nordland, 38.2 per cent support FrP, against 18.1 for Labour. FrP leader Carl I.Hagen was quaoted Friday as saying that he would consider a change in his party's monetary policy, allowing the counties of Norway to keep some of today state subsidies. Up to now, FrP has campaigned for cuts of state expenditures and subsidies for all counties and regions. Hagen said that Norway is presently in a unique and favourable economic situation, and that the need for cuts is no longer as necessary as before. However, later Friday Hagen claimed that he had been misunderstood on this point, and that there was no question of changing his party's program. Commenting on the faourable political polls, Hagen says that it is quite obvious that the results are in part a protest against the ruling Labour Party's economic policy, resulting in high interest rates and expensive fuel. (NRK/Aftenposten)Rolleiv Solholm
Written by Rolleiv Solholm