The political left wing praises Knut Aril Hareide in the wake of his attempt at making a «warmer» society. Hanne Skartveit writes a tear-dripping comment in the Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang, portraying Hareide as a brave politician who wanted to achieve more with Kristelig Folkeparti (the Public’s Christian Party) than being merely a «bethel party» from Western Norway.
Let us have a look at this «brave» politician who wants a society in which one is more inclusive and cares for the poor in a better way.
On the taxation lists from 2016, Knut Arild Hareide is listed with an income of 838 190 Nkr. He paid tax amounting to 380 483, which provides him with an annual net income of 457 707 Nkr, or 38 142 Nkr monthly. In addition, he had a fortune amounting to 5 966 874 Nkr.
The lowest level of pension is from 1 May, 2018 153 514 Nkr, which is about 12 793 Nkr a month. In 2017, Statistisk sentralbyrå (SSB, Statistics Norway) that a waiter’s income amounts to 27 280 Nkr a month, before taxation. A hotel receptionist has 28 800, and a customs officer or a pre-school teacher has about the same monthly income before taxation that Hareide gets paid. It is, however, dubious whether any of them has a fortune amounting to six million Nkr.
So then, Hareide, where is your warmth and generosity? How many starving children in Yemen would you have been able to feed with a few millions from your personal fortune? You and Jonas Gahr Støre, who by the way had a fortune amounting to 64 110 368 Nkr and an income of 3 938 253 Nkr, less 1 829 723 paid in taxes, which provides him with 2 108 530 Nkr annually, or 175 711 Nkr with which to frolic each month, might well have shown some more «warmth» and concern for the poor than you do?
And as if that was not enough, «first finger» politicians Rasmus Hansson in Miljøpartiet De Grønne («The Environmental Party The Green») with a fortune amounting to more than three million Nkr and about 40.000 paid each month, while the poor Audun Lysbakken has no fortune and must be content with a monthly payment of 37 835 Nkr.
Instead, you try to force the waiter, the customs officer, and even the receiver of minimum pension, to pay for the «warmth» and the hospitality by increasing the taxation and charges of ordinary people.
If Hareide, Hansson and Støre together gave their fortunes to those who starve and suffer, and opened their homes to some infant single asylum applicants, both their words and their politics would be trustworthy. At the present, there is no difference between them and a greedy right wing politician.
It is one thing to possess a lot of «warmth» and the hospitality towards the poor in political debates and struggles for power within their own parties, but quite some other to show it by way of life. To me, Hareide appears as nothing else than a hypocrite and no brave or «warm» politician, while Støre with his remark in the aftermath of Hareide loosing the struggle for KrF; that this «first and foremost is sad for Norway», appears as perhaps the biggest lie in the entire political history of Norway.
The truth is that for Norway, it is first and foremost essential that Støre will not become the Norwegian Prime Minister, and secondly that Hareide has kicked his legs out from under himself in believing, not in God, but in the serpent that tempted him with a shining, red apple that at first glance resembled Arbeiderpartiet, but in reality turned out to be the logo of Fremskrittspartiet (The Progressive Party in Norway).
Translated to English by Lars Hoem