Voters want safer cities, politicians misread concerns

www.aftenposten.no/english ^

[marthemaria]

Politicians in the midst of local election campaigns would do well to pay attention to the issue that seems to be most important to their constituencies: Safer cities and less crime. The Conservatives listed waterfront redevelopment as one of their top issues in Oslo. Only 5 percent of voters think it's important.

Crime-fighting was followed by funding for schools and care for the elderly as the voters' next most-important issues. Environmental issues ranked fourth on the list of those most important, and they were in turn followed by more funding for public transport and youth programs.

Funding for day care centers (barnehager), an issue which politicians spend lots of time debating, actually fell far down the list of issues viewed as most important in the current election campaigns. It was followed by immigration policies and, finally, the redevelopment of Oslo's waterfront.

That indicates that most local politicians in the Oslo area have seriously misread what's on the minds of voters. As late as July, most of the political parties listed environmental issues as being the most important in the fall campaign.

The Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet) was in fact the only party that even listed crime-fighting and urban safety as among its three most important issues. The other parties ignored it, suggesting they are out of touch with actual voter concerns. Labour was the only other party to mention safety, as its fifth priority out of nine.

Research firm Norsk Respons conducted the poll for the afternoon edition of Aftenposten, Aften.

[aimhigh]

Six murders in Washington DC last week. Business as usual for a liberal city.

[marthemaria]

This was in the media in Norway today. A man put out a video of Oslo on you tube that caused a bit of focus on the crime,drugs and begging issues again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jn7TPPnGvLM%0A

A short film showing the way Oslo has become very unpleasant and sad just like so many other places. It all happened very quickly and should be stopped before it is too late.