WELCOME TO THE PLANET STOLTENBERG-SØREIDE!

By FB - Unknown - Human Synthesis- 11 September 2026

Last night I saw it in full flood light at the Debate at NRK: There Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg (Ap) and Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide (H) stood shoulder to shoulder. It was almost impossible to hear them difference. And I might have been provoked a lot, since they were talking about my everyday life, my workplace and the survival of our company. Both were looking at the same numbers. Both came to the same conclusion. Both defend the same charges.

They practically mean the same thing:

We have to tolerate this? Diesel at 30 kroner per liter or more as it seems, is not something that should be prioritized. To me it feels like Jens Stoltenberg and Ine Marie Eriksen Søreide are standing shoulder to shoulder on the same planet. Up there they are in good company with the economists from Civita and the rest of the cheerleaders who have walking distance their entire lives. On their planet, this is about models, statistics, purchasing power and economic theories. They tell us the spreadsheet looks good. It's just that the rest of us don't live there.

Down here on Earth, where I have to pay my bills and you have to pay yours, we're the ones who have to live with the consequences. Down here our truck drivers are standing at the pumps watching the 30's light on them. Down here a lot of the transportation companies are trying to pay salaries and make ends meet. Down here the craftsman and contractor sit with the calculator and watch the margins disappear. Down here comes the electricity bill, with prices that today are around 2,30 kWh. Down here comes the diesel bill. The fees. VAT.

For many parts of Norway, it is not 100 meters or a bus stop away from the kindergarten, school, recreational activities, doctor, store, dentist or workplace. The distances are real. Norway is also completely industry driven by diesel. It is the backbone of society. Let's take a concrete example of what their policy means for a local transport company that uses 25 000 litres of diesel a month. After the ordinary special fees were reintroduced this fall, this company has received a clean and finally extra bill of over 1 million kroner a year straight out of the cash register!

The right answers are lower taxes.

But let's use practical sense and count on it: If Høyre cuts the corporate tax by 2 percent points, this transport company actually needs to have a surplus of a whopping 54 MILLION ISK for the tax cut to cover the state's tax increase alone! 54 million. It is more than the entire turnover of most of the companies that are actually affected! The truth is that with today's diesel prices, many of these companies are not making any profits at all. They bleed money and rule straight towards a red bottom line. And when the profit is zero, it does not help a single percent with lower taxes from Høyre! You cannot pay less tax on money you don't have.

The right-wing solution only works for those who don't have problems with these prices in the first place. They are offering an umbrella to a drowning person. If the house is on fire, it does not help that the municipality promises lower property taxes next year. First the fire has to be put out. This afternoon it hits E18 when the Diesel Roar action starts driving-slow actions. I understand professional drivers damn well. People do not react because they do not understand economics – they react because they feel that the economists in Oslo no longer understand them. While the state hopes in billions on special Norwegian fees and takes out over 32 billion a year on diesel alone, those who build the country seem to be thinning.

It’s all about RESPECT.Respect for working people. Respect for the companies that build the country. Respect for the people who actually have to live with the consequences of politics. On the planet of Stoltenberg and Søreide, the theory works. On the planet of Stoltenberg and Søreide, the models work. On the planet of Stoltenberg and Søreide, the spreadsheets work.

Down here on earth the bills are paid. And more and more Norwegians are beginning to wonder if those who govern the country still understand the difference?