– It will probably be an even vote, says Ingvild Vaggen Malvik in a text message to Dagsavisen. She admits that she is excited about Tuesday’s vote, as leader of the Holmlia Labor party. They have appointed former minister and deputy leader Hadia Tajik from Rogaland in second place on the Oslo Labor Party’s parliamentary list after party leader Jonas Gahr Støre.
– No, I dare not say anything! I think it’s quite similar, says Ivar Morken, who heads the Furuset Workers’ Association. There they go for the Oslo representative and the former deputy mayor from Groruddalen: Kamzy Gunaratnam.
Win or lose
All autumn it has been between Kamzy Gunaratnam and Hadia Tajik in Oslo Ap. Little is said about Jonas Gahr Støre or Jan Christian Vestre, who were both nominated without discussion in first and third place respectively on the list for the general election in 2025. But “everyone” has been talking about second place. For many of the local Ap teams, the choice for this coveted second place has been difficult and sometimes emotionally heavy, because you know and like both candidates personally.
Several teams have not even managed to choose between the two. As the opinion polls stand now, only the top three names on Aps Oslo’s list are guaranteed a ticket to the Storting. Whoever loses the nomination battle on Tuesday is thus completely out of national politics. Then it’s win or lose.
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Think Kamzy has a chance
Olav Neander, leader of Ensjø, Vålerenga and Kampen Arbeiderpartilag, is on “Team Kamzy”, and believes that she may have a chance to win second place. He also expects that there will be a written vote. But he was not surprised that Tajik won a majority in the nomination committee, and he emphasizes that the margins were small at the members’ meeting of his own local team.
– Even though we landed on Kamzy, we were split almost down the middle. I think both are talented ladies, and it’s really a bit silly that we have to choose between them. It was also something that marked something of our members’ meeting. Although we had a majority for Kamzy, it was not a unanimous majority. I can imagine that there has probably also been something similar in some of the other teams, says Neander.
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– Too poorly represented
Another “Team Kamzy” team is Furuset Arbeiderlag in Groruddalen. In that valley, Ap has traditionally been strong, and here the choice of a candidate with local connections probably feels even more important. Leader Ivar Morken is genuinely worried about the election campaign next year, if they have to stand without a representative from Groruddalen. He shares this concern with several Ap teams in Groruddalen, according to the input that came to the nomination committee this autumn.
– Groruddalen is too poorly represented, and that is of course connected to politics. We have gone to the polls a few times now, without having received Groruddal cases that have been possible to deal with. In that context, we think that Kamzy is a local voice, says Morken to Dagsavisen.
– In the election summaries, the party has often blamed low turnout, for example in Groruddalen, and that our poor results are due to low turnout. But I don’t agree that it is the main explanation, it would be far too simple. I simply don’t think we are able to talk to the people around us. It is quite clear when we stand up, that we do not meet people’s concerns well enough, and not with clear enough language, says the Furuset leader, and adds:
– It is a complicated matter. People are not against Hadia here, but they may not like people shopping counties. There is probably an opinion here, even though she lives in Oslo now. That transition from Rogaland to here: People didn’t quite follow it, he thinks.
– I think you could well imagine her high up, preferably also into the party leadership again, so that’s not where it’s at! Oslo representatives often become national politicians with little local grounding. Kamzy stands out as both local and national.
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The efficient Hadia
The “Team Hadia” teams are also concerned about the party’s declining support and the upcoming election campaign in 2025, and believe Tajik is the solution. “The Labor Party needs people with implementation power, experience and results to show”, writes the Trade Union Movement’s Labor Party in its input to the nomination committee. “Hadia Tajik has proven to be the most effective labor minister since the 1970s, with a unique ability to execute”.
The gay network in Oslo Ap also supports Hadia Tajik.
– During the autumn, we in the Gay Network have had two member meetings which have decided that we will support Hadia in second place. It is rare to see a politician with such great impact, regardless of which policy area it is in question, writes team leader Jon Reidar Øyan in a text message to Dagsavisen.
He describes Tajik as a close ally and friend of the Gay Network for many years, who has come up with a number of representative proposals in the Storting which he believes have strengthened LGBTI rights in the long term, such as the ban on conversion therapy.
– She always stands up for us and champions important political issues we are concerned with, most recently in connection with the attempted murder of a gay couple on Tjuvholmen in August this year. We simply cannot afford to lose a politician of this caliber, especially not with the situation the party is in today, says Øyan.
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The nomination battle in Oslo Ap
On 11 September, Hadia Tajik announced that she would run on the Storting list for Oslo Ap in 2025. Kamzy Gunaratnam had previously said that she wanted re-election, and then she wanted second place.
The polls right now show that Oslo Ap can only count on getting three safe parliamentary seats. First and third place go to party leader Jonas Gahr Støre and deputy leader Jan Christian Vestre.
On 20 October, it became known that eight out of nine members of Oslo Aps’ nomination committee in their first draft would put Tajik in second place. This draft was then sent out for consultation to Oslo Aps’ 15 borough parties and 69 different teams, with a deadline of 1 November to provide input.
An investigation VG have done, shows that a majority of teams wanted Gunaratnam in second place. Some teams were unable to decide which candidate they would go for.
On 18 November, the nomination committee’s final recommendation was sent out. A majority of eight out of nine again nominated Tajik in second place. In fourth place, the preference is divided. There, seven members want Agnes Viljugrein, while two members want Trine Lise Sundnes.
The entire Oslo Aps parliamentary list will be voted on on 26 November. Since Tajik has the support of large local groups, it is possible that the majority of the 259 delegates will vote for her. VG believes it could still be a dead end.
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