Newsletter: Arctic Elections: What Will Change?
This autumn, four Arctic countries hold elections. (Photo: Elections Canada)
Dear reader! This autumn, four Arctic countries hold elections. Both Russia, Norway, Iceland and Canada are to decide what the High North should look like for the next four years. This, and more, you can read about in this week’s newsletter.
Monday’s elections made it clear; Norway will have a change of government. The left-side parties, headed by the Labor Party, won a clear majority while current PM Erna Solberg and her Conservative Party are the election’s clear loser.
In his Friday commentary this week, our Editor-in-Chief Arne O. Holm writes that the government parties were more or less wiped out from Northern Norway, and that it remains to be seen for what purposes the election winners will use their successful broom.
“The party programs of the Socialist Left Party and the agrarian Center Party are unusually thin when it comes to one of the heart matters of Labor Party leader Jonas Gahr Støre; the Arctic policy”, Holm says.
Starting today, Russia holds elections for the lower chamber of the national parliament, the State duma, in the period 17 to 19 September. However, no major changes are expected following the election, argues Arild Moe, researcher at the Fridtjof Nansen Institute.
The Canadian election is somehow more special. In August, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced early elections, two years prior to schedule. However, the current PM lacks support and the early election on Monday 20 September may end up having dramatic consequences.
“He announced early elections to get all power to the government”, says André Lamoreaux, Professor of Political Science at the University of Quebeck to High North News. (Norwegian only).
High North News continues monitoring the elections in the Arctic, so stay with us.
Batteries and cement
Business plans abound in the Arctic. Following two years of planning, the Executive Vice President Operations at Freyr in Mo i Rana, Norway recently presented the company’s progress plan for starting up.
“We have to bring in engineers from outside in order to make this happen, says EVP Operations Tove N. Ljungquist in this High North News interview.
In Sweden, mining giant LKAB risks not having a cement supplier after October this year. The Swedish Council on Legislation does not approve of the legal changes proposed by the government to enable Sweden’s largest cement supplier Cementa to continue production for another eight months.
All this, and a whole lot more, you can find at High North News.
We at High North news wish you all the best for the weekend, and feel free to tip us about what you want to read more about.
Trine Jonassen,
News Editor,
High North News