There is a storm in local politics in Norway’s sixth-largest city, Drammen. Yesterday the deputy mayor of Ståle Srensen (Ap) came out and told about the intimidation and ill-treatment of fellow politicians.

– I’m being bullied. Exceptions, slander, and who are spoken of instead of with, the deputy mayor of Drammen, Ståle Srensen (Ap), told Dramamens Tidende.

Dagbladet wrote on Wednesday that several local politicians in Drammen confirmed that there was a cultural deficiency in local politics in the city.

Open conflict

Sørensen was previously the group leader for the MDGs before he changed parties. For a period he himself admitted to representing the party in the city council without other group members and the party center admitting it. Since then, Sørensen announced his transfer to Ap, but continued as deputy mayor.

Sources told Dagbladet about the open conflict within the MDG city council group regarding the working environment between representatives. The conflict occurred about a year and a half ago.

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– Uncultured

The Drammen policy has been described by some as “hard”, and Sørensen as one of the “toughest”.

Several local politicians confirmed to Dagbladet on Wednesday that there is an uncultured form. Drammen leader Arbeiderparti specifically pointed out that it happened on social media.

“I know some people who have had bad experiences, so it’s clear this is a real problem,” Mads Hilden, leader of the Drammen Labor Party, told Tidend Drama.

– There should be the same rules for everyone

– Warning

The MDG group leader in Drammen Cathrin Janøy claims that the party received a number of warnings against Sørensen while she was in the party. He left the party in January 2021.

– Some of us had unpleasant experiences with Ståle Srensen during our time at MDG. There were warnings about him up to several times. Beyond this, I don’t want to comment on anything else, Janøy claims to Dagbladet.

The case must not be about sexual harassment or any other “metoo” related case. As Dagbladet understands, the case is about leadership style.

MDG group leader Janøy stressed that she was personally done with this issue.

– I’m done with this. I want to spend my time on politics. I want to fight for the environment and the party and make Drammen a better municipality.

Ståle Srensen responded to further allegations in this case.

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– Bottomless

Dagbladet has turned the case over to the deputy mayor of Ståle Srensen. He replied as follows in an email:

“Those who read the local newspaper in Drammen are familiar with the conflict which caused the MDG city council group to be reduced from five to two people, in addition the party lost both seats in the leadership, the chairman and several members resigned in protest.” writes Sørensen and continues:

“There are different perceptions of what a warning is. For me, this is a closed case. In general, we see a trend in society where you can hit other people by reporting them, sometimes for no reason. So it spreads in the media and elsewhere that “has been notified”. If this happens over time, I’d call it uncultured. And in the long run, it will break an important notification system.” wrote Sørensen.

Rose Jahanfarah was part of the original municipal council group for the MDGs when the conflict flared, and resigned shortly after Sørensen. He currently represents SV. Janafareh believes that the notification is baseless and was used as part of the conflict.

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– I have worked with Ståle long before the current MDG city council representative joined the party. And I withdrew from the party with him. Like other coworkers, I’ve experienced Ståle both good and bad and don’t recognize the descriptions or “warnings” that come in, Jahanfarah told Dagbladet.

Local politicians believe that the MDGs have treated notifications badly.

The party secretary at MDG, Torkil Vederhus, said they did not comment on the notification case.

– We don’t usually comment on any notification cases. This is in line with our guidelines and justified for the benefit of all involved, Vederhus wrote in a text message.