The Prime Minister of Norway Jens Stoltenberg took on another job for an afternoon – that of a taxi driver. He went incognito and drove a cab, ferrying unknowing citizens to their destinations within Oslo, Norway’s capital. Newspapers reported that passengers did not have to pay for the ride. The Prime Minister admitted to one passenger that he had not driven a car in eight years. After all, prime ministers are usually chauffeured everywhere they go.
Why?
The Prime Minister has an interesting point of view. He believed that voters in Norway tend to express their thoughts rather openly in taxicabs. He wanted to get to know his constituents and so he decided to drive a taxicab. A hidden camera was placed on the dashboard of the taxicab so that his interactions with the passengers were recorded. The video footage was posted on the Facebook page of the Prime Minister. The video of the Labor Party’s head has also been uploaded to YouTube and Twitter.
The footage was made with the help of an advertising company and it’s already been made into a film. Prime Minister Stoltenberg intends to use the film during the campaign this September. He is on his second term and is running for re-election. The campaign officially starts on September 9, 2013.
Secret identity revealed
The Prime Minister wore the uniform of a taxi driver with the proper badge and wore dark glasses. Still, some people recognized him. He admitted to who he was when they did recognize him. It did not take long for most of the passengers to do so. The reactions ranged from shock, to curiosity, to bemusement.
The video footage includes a recording of a passenger who said, “From this angle, he really looks like the prime minister.” Other passengers, after recognizing him and the PM confirming his identity, would go on a short litany of “requests,” criticisms, and discussions on various political issues.
For the win
There is talk that the ruling leftist coalition headed by Prime Minister Stoltenberg is likely to lose in the upcoming polls. Opinion surveys support these circulating rumors. The Labor Party took to power in 2005. This stint might do the PM and his party well. At least one man, an elderly chap promised to vote Labor in the next election.
Prime Minister Stoltenberg said in an interview with the media that he thought it was important for him to know what people think. He decided on the move in order to learn about “unfiltered” popular opinion directly from the source. He followed in the tradition of world leaders who before him went incognito just to learn firsthand about the points of view of their constituents.
How’s the Prime Minister’s driving skills?
Years sitting back as chauffeurs drove him around made the Prime Minister a bit rusty behind the steering wheel. The footage showed passengers commenting on his driving skills. A couple of passengers were very blunt in expressing dissatisfaction with the incognito driver’s skills. The Prime Minister drove a Mercedes Benz.
When asked by a tabloid newspaper whether he’d want to take on the job of driving a taxi, Prime Minister Stoltenberg said he’d do a better job as prime minister of Norway.
Photo Credit: Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
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