No wonder the town is angry

So can norwegians save 4,25 billion in interest expense

BERGEN (Dagbladet): Who is it that throws a glasskule up in the air, shouting "take", and then takes a step to the side? It is one that will force some others to take more responsibility for whether it goes in pieces or not. It is, in other words, Petter Snare, the director of the Code, which on Tuesday called in a press conference outside the Troldhaugen in Bergen. The message was that the Code, Norway's second largest art museum, which has the responsibility for the seven exhibition halls in Bergen and the surrounding area, would be bankrupt at the latest in October if they did not have a solid economic blood transfusion from the state.

Coronakrisen affects people all over the world and the whole of Norway, but the leads in his own way, the people of bergen are especially hard. It is beautiful here in Bergen now, the sun is shining and rododendronen spurts. It is, in other words, as it often is in may, when it condemned the rain for once lets be to drip in a few hours at a time, and the city usually receives, the smiling festspillpublikummere and excited by ideas of participants on the Nordic mediedager and Gullruten.

May is the month when the Bergen attracts culture vultures innenlandturister such a forgotten saftglass attracts wasps, and it marks the beginning of a turistsesong where visitors from near and far visit the city to take selfies in front of the old stick houses, go to a concert and throng together in museums. It is not so much of this that you can do now.

The same crisis making life especially miserable for just the Code, because of a feud that goes several decades back. The code has around 300 000 visitors a year at Nasjonalmuseets around 500 000. Still get the Code only breadcrumbs from the state compared with the sum being the older brother in Oslo to part - 27 million against Nasjonalmuseets 790 million. The background for the stemoderlige treatment is that the precursor to the Code, the Bergen national art collections, the nineties were given the opportunity to become a state shop offers a wide selection, something that would lead to that the state took greater responsibility for the museum's economic well. Town, not the country's least self-conscious suspicious people dealing, felt that it would mean to say from too much of the right of disposition over a very valuable art collection, and thanks to no.

Fast forward in time, and Museums-Norway looks quite different. There have been reforms and there have been consolidations. From being a municipal art collection is Code been a fight that includes several museums, exhibition halls and komponisthjem, including Edvard Grieg, Troldhaugen. Still have culture after culture, from the red as well as blue parties, said no when the institution has requested increased federal funding, and all with the same reason: You selected the this for yourself. It was you who said no to us .

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It is not just a new story in politics, this: If a department can point to a reason to not have to pay for something, they will slam the ground in the table every time someone raised their hand. The alternative is to find fresh money in a budget where most people already feel that they have too little. But the Code has good reason to feel unreasonably treated when the museum held so strictly to a decision they made at a time where they were a totally different institution and the world was a very different place.

Add that the Code in addition råkes of what was an original problem by the government's corona krisepakke: Namely, that institutions who receive over sixty per cent public support, do not fall under the støtteordningene. This comes after several years where the government has pushed for the same institutions to make more money on your own. But the institutions that have managed to increase the share of ticket revenue, are struggling even more when just the admission fees fall away. They are punished for having been the cleverest kids in the class.

Code is one of them. Winter large Munch exhibition was a majestic experience and a great publikumssuksess, which to the full demonstrated the museum's ability to draw large crowds. Perhaps this makes it also easier for the state to say, but see, you'll get the chance to so nice things. This is the so good. Here it is just to continue as before.

It is easy to twist on the mouth and think that Tuesday's incidents at Troldhaugen was well theatrical. Kulturredaktør in The new york times, Frode Bjerkestrand, call it a stunt, and points out rightly that there hardly is any real danger that the Code should return the doll. The ministry of culture has answered some stated that they might have said that they are going to find a solution and soon come with a new propsisjon. Maybe they seem that Petter Snare of crying wolf.

the Snare has, since he was the director jumped up and down and tried to get changed the old finansieringsmodellen that Code is suffering under. And thus it is possible to understand why he and Code management set up his little performance at Troldhaugen: They have after all tried everything else, shouted and hoiet, and received little musical ear. It really is worth to keep in mind is this: There is a glasskule, it is invaluable, and it is indeed possible to crush it.

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