Ola Borten Moe Gets His Own Cheeky Tune – While Austrheim Defies the Report and Pushes Ahead with Nuclear Power

There’s something quintessentially Norwegian about writing a cheeky tune about a member of parliament. Not a nasty song, but more of a wry, good-humoured little number sung at village gatherings or over a beer at the local park. Now Ola Borten Moe has his very own – just as the nuclear power debate heats up big time on the west coast.

Because while rumours of A Cheeky Tune About Ola Borten Moe spread through political corridors, out in the coastal municipality of Austrheim they’re refusing to follow the script. A fresh report – one that very few have read with any joy – concludes what’s pretty obvious: it’s going to be difficult, expensive and time‑consuming. So what did Austrheim do? They stuck their noses in the air and said: we’re pressing on anyway.

When Borten Moe turned his back on the atom

Let’s take a quick step back. Ola Borten Moe, the former Centre Party oil and energy minister, went through a phase where he practically had to hold onto the table to stop himself laughing at nuclear energy enthusiasts. In several interviews his tone was ice‑cold: too expensive, too slow, too complicated. He preferred to back renewables and Norwegian hydropower – a safe, old‑fashioned line that went down well with many.

But then something changed. The energy crisis, power prices that got people fired up on the floor of the Storting, and the realisation that the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. Suddenly nuclear power didn’t seem so silly after all. Even so, many are left with the feeling that the man who could have got the ball rolling ten years ago instead chose to look the other way.

“A real dose of cold water” – but Austrheim isn’t listening

Commentators in one of the country’s biggest newspapers have described the situation as exactly that: a real dose of cold water. The report that landed last week didn’t exactly trash the plans, but it gave them a proper dousing. Cost estimates running wild, challenges with waste management, and a timeline that stretches far beyond the next election cycle.

Yet when a local broadcaster paid a visit to Austrheim, the answers were surprisingly clear. The mayor shrugged and pointed to local enthusiasm. “We’re going to keep working on the nuclear power plans,” was the message. Local businesses are cheering. This is no longer about what a report says – it’s about building something new, regardless of what the Oslo crowd might think.

• Local companies see dozens of full‑time jobs in research and services.
• Property tax could stabilise over time – which has homeowners breathing a sigh of relief.
• And then there’s the cheeky tune about Ola Borten Moe, which in local lore is said to be about exactly this contradiction: The man who first said no, and then maybe yes – while the village had already started digging.

“Should have started the job ages ago”

Over on the business pages of the media, the tone is different. Most writers there say that nuclear power should have started the job ages ago. The point is that every day we wait, the next decade gets even more expensive. And when even Germany regrets its nuclear phase‑out, and France doubles down, Norwegian hesitation starts to look petty.

Ola Borten Moe has since tried to moderate his stance. He says he was never “principally opposed”, just practically sceptical. But the cheeky tune now being sung in small groups on the west coast jokes about exactly this: “Ola said no, Ola said yes, Ola said maybe – while Austrheim built anyway.”

And that’s pretty much where we are today. Reports come and go. Politicians change their minds and call it “fresh assessments”. While out in the municipalities, where people actually need electricity and jobs, they’re taking matters into their own hands. Austrheim has already started talking to technology suppliers. The plans are no longer on the drawing board – they’re becoming reality.

Maybe the cheeky tune about Ola Borten Moe will end up as just a footnote in history. But right now, with nuclear power back on the agenda, it’s the small local heroes who are leading the way. And that’s probably worth a song – or at least a good, long feature story.