The Great Nordic Thread

[BundouYMB]

You want why the Government is so unpopular in Norway? Let me give you one example: the plastic bag tax.

As the name suggests this was a tax on using plastic bags (at the grocery store, for example) that was introduced in the last budget. The Liberal Party, backed up by the Christian Democrats, insisted the tax was introduced. Trine Skei Grande insisted the Liberal Party would not vote for the budget if it did not include this tax.

The Progress Party was absolutely opposed. What followed was as ugly a knock-down drag-out fight as ever took place between any Government (or Government supporting parties.) Party leaders storming out in the middle of meetings, trash talking each other in public, ect. So what happened?

Respons released a poll (in retrospect an obvious fluke) which had the Liberals and Christian Democrats both above 7% and FrP dropping. This gave them the last minute momentum to force it into the budget (and made for yet another bitter pill for FrP to swallow.) Trine Skei Grande (Liberal leader) and Knut Arild Hareide (Christian Democratic leader) make the rounds on the news celebrating how they're keeping the government moderate, enviromentally friendly, ect.

So, the tax was introduced. The budget was passed. Finally! Now the Government can start recovering, right? No more infighting?

Then a funny thing happened. A poll was released. Then another poll. Then another. They all show the same thing! The plastic bag tax was horribly unpopular. So what happens next? The Liberals and Christian Democrats insisted that, oh, that plastic bag tax they had been championing a few days ago? Of course they didn't support it. And, I mean, who really remembers who supported what? That was like a whole week ago!

So was the tax repealed? Of course not! Because then the Conservatives stepped in to say that if the Government makes a decision then all the parties should support it (but of course they, in a personal capacity, were bitterly opposed to the tax and fought it every step of the way.)

So now you have a situation where they all vote for an unpopular tax, none of them will defend it, and in fact they're all claiming they opposed it in negotiations! And to top it off they don't even have the guts to repeal it.

This is a pattern of behavior. Dirty laundry is aired in ugly public fights about all sorts of things. Eventually the Government reaches "compromises" no one likes and no one will defend.

And that's how you lose twenty points in the polls in one year. Eat your heart out, Tony Abbott!

[BundouYMB]

TNS Gallup also had a poll out recently: