Ola Borten Moe gets his own cheeky ditty – while Austrheim defies the report and pushes ahead with nuclear power

There’s something quintessentially Norwegian about writing a cheeky little ditty about a member of parliament. Not a nasty song, more a sideways-looking, humorous number sung at village get-togethers or over a pint in the park. Now Ola Borten Moe has got his very own – just as the nuclear power debate is flaring up in full force on the west coast.

Because while rumours of A cheeky ditty 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 – which few have read with any joy – concludes the obvious: it’s going to be difficult, expensive and time-consuming. So what did Austrheim do? They stuck their noses in the air and replied: we’re carrying on anyway.

When Borten Moe gave nuclear the cold shoulder

Let’s take a quick step back. Ola Borten Moe, the former oil and energy minister from the Centre Party, went through a phase where he had to grip the edge of the table to keep from laughing at nuclear 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‑school line that went down well with many.

But then something happened. The energy crisis, electricity prices that got people riled up at the parliamentary podium, and a realisation that the sun doesn’t always shine and the wind doesn’t always blow. Suddenly nuclear didn’t seem so daft after all. Yet many are still 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 proper 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 proper dose of cold water. The report that landed last week didn’t exactly trash the plans, but it gave them a real soaking. Cost estimates spiralling out of control, waste management challenges, and a timeline stretching far beyond the next election cycle.

Yet when a local broadcaster visited Austrheim, the answers were startlingly clear. The mayor shrugged and pointed to local enthusiasm. “We’re going to keep going with our nuclear plans”, was the message. Businesses in the region are delighted. This is no longer about what a report says – it’s about building something new, regardless of what they might think in Oslo.

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

“Should have started the job long ago”

In the business pages of the media, the tone is different. Most writers there argue that nuclear power should have started the job long ago. The point is that every day we wait makes the next decade 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 position. He says he was never “principally against” it, just practically doubtful. But the cheeky ditty now being sung in small groups on the west coast pokes fun precisely at this: “Ola said no, Ola said yes, Ola said maybe – while Austrheim built anyway.”

And that’s probably where we stand today. Reports come and go. Politicians change their minds and call it “fresh assessments”. Meanwhile, out in the municipalities where people actually need power 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 ditty 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 surely worth a song – or at the very least, a good long feature.