Statsrådshverdagen begins with a beautifully democratic moment. It is when a fresh key card is handed over to a new minister. Power and responsibility is transferred in worthy forms. But when the avgåtte the minister is out of the office, discover the new that he or she in reality is on a political train in high speed.
Agnar Kaarbø. Show more
In the book Political leadership – stories from the statsrådskontorene (Cappelen Damm 2018) I interviewed a number of former ministers and prime ministers about how it is to end up in this particular political position.
They tell of a complex, hectic and challenging task. It is filled with claims of to decide, clarify and state within the private departements areas of responsibility. Then it is to know what you want. It does not all. According to Gudmund Hernes, we have two types of ministers: Those who come into the ministry and says: “Here are my policies.” Then there are the ones who come in and say: “What is my policy?”
We’ll believe that the Norwegian Christian democratic party when the ministers know how to roughly what they want. Some of them have been able to, if they have dared to think the thought, prepare for statsrådslivet. They have had more time than others who on short notice was thrown into the political midst that position is.
Nevertheless, no one can in advance know how they handle one of the most demanding lederposisjonene in the Norwegian society. Grete Faremo, minister during gro harlem Brundtland, Jagland and Stoltenberg, says in his book: “Someone, who you think is strong, is it not. And vice-versa.”. Other eksstatsråder characterize the position as extreme, that you must sleep with an eye watchful, and that there are no places to hide.
Criticize Ernas “historically large” government
In the context of the case internally in the ministry will come extensive proceedings before regjeringskonferansene. Here ministers discover that the ministry expects that they are fighting their case against the other ministries, regardless of what a regjeringserklæring says. So we have demands and expectations from the private partiapparat and party.
For the pressure and split the Progress to realize many ideas from a long statement, this extra noticeably. Plus so on their own and others ‘ requirement to be present in and for the media most of the day.
In other words exercised good leadership internally and good governance remotely. Then it must be given priority. The challenge is that there is not much time to plan. The calendar is already full when the minister arrives. As a former oil and energy minister Tord Lien tells about his meeting with statsrådslivet: “After the first 14 days I hoped that the pace soon had to go down. But it did not. As a minister you have to be present in the office and you need to be on the go.”
They argued for Jonas in the fall. Ensured that the Progress went in the government with Erna yesterday: – I dolket not Hareide in the back
Both Kjell Britain Ropstad and Olaug Bollestad has been cured through a very hectic autumn. Now waiting a new phase. When I interviewed Ropstad for the Weekly newspaper Management (now Today’s Perspective) in the last spring, he was happy with the vippeposisjonen. At Granavolden, he has committed himself to a project that can provide more influence, but will require more compromises and defence of matters which the parties disagree.
The political tautrekkingen take place internally in the government. Then it is to get wins that can be communicated to the outside world. To have averted a defeat or snekret together a ullent compromise is not as easy to sell. For the smallest coalition parties, which rarely wins on the regjeringsdeltakelse, is not this easy. They will like the power as follows statsrådsposisjonen. But they will also experience, like its predecessors, that power followed by powerlessness.
prime Minister Erna Solberg has seemingly handled the internal interaction within the government better than Jens Stoltenberg, who led a rødgrønn trepartiregjering. It went from the political enthusiasm to a grueling forhandlingskultur.
His is about to meet the voters:- I feel is ashamed,
Kristin Halvorsen, the leader of that party and one of the architects of the historic collaboration, says in the book that it was worth the struggle and yielded results, but that there were too many “petty discussions in the back room. The aim should be to create a policy that all came out well. If I were doing this again, I would have insisted on more room for such a thing.”.
One of the many challenges for the extended Solberg-government is lokalvalget to fall. All the coalition parties have had issues that can promote them in the fight for the vote. But there is not unlimited space to political sideshow and careless trapesartister in america’s political tent. Regjeringsprosjektet must be able to withstand both partiprofileringer and the overall election results.
Earlier Right leader and prime minister Jan P. Syses words about it comes to hang together or are hung separately, is still valid.
