Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
Ferry departures postponed, Norwegian Theatre fears downsizing amid financial issues, and other headlines from Norway on Monday.
The Norwegian Theatre fears downsizing and cuts
The Norwegian Theatre (Det Norske Teatret) is in a very difficult financial situation, as it is nowhere near breaking even, the newspaper Klassekampen reported on Monday.
The theatre has been affected by the government's efficiency reform, more expensive electricity prices, more expensive material costs, and the backlog from the pandemic.
In addition, subsidies to the theatre have also decreased. It is not possible to compensate for the losses with increased ticket prices, so now the theatre is launching a fundraising campaign to prevent them from having to resort to downsizing and cuts in the offer.
The fundraising campaign aims to collect 25 million kroner.
New poll: Conservative Party takes the lead in Oslo
According to a new opinion poll published by the newspaper Aftenposten, the Conservative Party (Høyre) has managed to become the most popular political party in Oslo.
Even in Groruddalen, the Labor Party's (Arbeiderpartiet) traditional bastion in the capital, the Conservatives now enjoy more support than the Labour Party.
In the districts of Alna, Grorud, Stovner, Bjerke, and Søndre Nordstrand, the Conservatives are more popular with 28 percent of survey respondents signalling a preference for them, while the Labor Party lags behind at 24 percent.
In the 2011, 2015, and 2019 elections, the Labour Party was the most popular party in the aforementioned districts.
In the centre of the city, the Conservative Party 25 percent said they were likely to vote for them compared to the Labour Party's 19 percent, while the support for the Conservatives and Labour in the south of the city amounts to 40 percent and 25 percent, respectively. In the western districts, the Conservative Party 54 percent said they preferred the Conservative Party against the Labour Party's 17 percent, according to the survey.
In other words, the Conservatives now enjoy the most support across the capital.
Norwegian government drops out of buying 'cheap' tanks
During the weekend, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram confirmed that the government would not buy 18 extra 'cheap' tanks from Germany.
In February, it became known that the government was buying 54 tanks of the Leopard 2 type from Germany. The contract contained an option to purchase 18 additional tanks at a later date, with a deadline of June 30th. After the said date, the price is set to rise sharply.
Defense Minister Gram announced that the government has decided that the option would not be activated.
"The savings by buying 54 instead of 72 will be able to be used for other military capacities in line with priorities," Gram wrote in a written response to a question from the Progress Party's (Fremskrittspartiet) Terje Halleland.
Color Line and Fjord Line cancel departures
Color Line's Superspeed ferry departure from Kristiansand on Sunday afternoon was cancelled due to strong winds, as was the departure of the Fjord FSTR catamaran.
"The weather and wind conditions are a bit challenging, especially in Hirtshals. Winds at a speed of 22–23 meters per second have been reported," sales and marketing manager Nina Moland Andersen in Color Line told the newspaper Fædrelandsvennen.
In addition to the fact that the afternoon departure (873 passengers) was cancelled, the 8:45 pm departure (more than 1,000 passengers) from Hirtshals on Sunday was also affected.
The passengers have been rebooked for the next departure, at 8am from Kristiansand on Monday morning, with a return at 12:15 pm from Hirtshals. However, some will have to wait until the 4:30pm departure from Kristiansand or the 8:45pm return from Hirtshals on Monday.
Fjord Line also cancelled two departures.
"The weather is a bit tough now. We have cancelled the last two round trips with Fjord FSTR," CEO Brian Thorsted Hansen told the newspaper on Sunday.
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The Norwegian Theatre fears downsizing and cuts
The Norwegian Theatre (Det Norske Teatret) is in a very difficult financial situation, as it is nowhere near breaking even, the newspaper Klassekampen reported on Monday.
The theatre has been affected by the government's efficiency reform, more expensive electricity prices, more expensive material costs, and the backlog from the pandemic.
In addition, subsidies to the theatre have also decreased. It is not possible to compensate for the losses with increased ticket prices, so now the theatre is launching a fundraising campaign to prevent them from having to resort to downsizing and cuts in the offer.
The fundraising campaign aims to collect 25 million kroner.
New poll: Conservative Party takes the lead in Oslo
According to a new opinion poll published by the newspaper Aftenposten, the Conservative Party (Høyre) has managed to become the most popular political party in Oslo.
Even in Groruddalen, the Labor Party's (Arbeiderpartiet) traditional bastion in the capital, the Conservatives now enjoy more support than the Labour Party.
In the districts of Alna, Grorud, Stovner, Bjerke, and Søndre Nordstrand, the Conservatives are more popular with 28 percent of survey respondents signalling a preference for them, while the Labor Party lags behind at 24 percent.
In the 2011, 2015, and 2019 elections, the Labour Party was the most popular party in the aforementioned districts.
In the centre of the city, the Conservative Party 25 percent said they were likely to vote for them compared to the Labour Party's 19 percent, while the support for the Conservatives and Labour in the south of the city amounts to 40 percent and 25 percent, respectively. In the western districts, the Conservative Party 54 percent said they preferred the Conservative Party against the Labour Party's 17 percent, according to the survey.
In other words, the Conservatives now enjoy the most support across the capital.
Norwegian government drops out of buying 'cheap' tanks
During the weekend, Norwegian Defense Minister Bjørn Arild Gram confirmed that the government would not buy 18 extra 'cheap' tanks from Germany.
In February, it became known that the government was buying 54 tanks of the Leopard 2 type from Germany. The contract contained an option to purchase 18 additional tanks at a later date, with a deadline of June 30th. After the said date, the price is set to rise sharply.
Defense Minister Gram announced that the government has decided that the option would not be activated.
"The savings by buying 54 instead of 72 will be able to be used for other military capacities in line with priorities," Gram wrote in a written response to a question from the Progress Party's (Fremskrittspartiet) Terje Halleland.
Color Line and Fjord Line cancel departures
Color Line's Superspeed ferry departure from Kristiansand on Sunday afternoon was cancelled due to strong winds, as was the departure of the Fjord FSTR catamaran.
"The weather and wind conditions are a bit challenging, especially in Hirtshals. Winds at a speed of 22–23 meters per second have been reported," sales and marketing manager Nina Moland Andersen in Color Line told the newspaper Fædrelandsvennen.
In addition to the fact that the afternoon departure (873 passengers) was cancelled, the 8:45 pm departure (more than 1,000 passengers) from Hirtshals on Sunday was also affected.
The passengers have been rebooked for the next departure, at 8am from Kristiansand on Monday morning, with a return at 12:15 pm from Hirtshals. However, some will have to wait until the 4:30pm departure from Kristiansand or the 8:45pm return from Hirtshals on Monday.
Fjord Line also cancelled two departures.
"The weather is a bit tough now. We have cancelled the last two round trips with Fjord FSTR," CEO Brian Thorsted Hansen told the newspaper on Sunday.
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