NEWS ANALYSIS: Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre was quick to congratulate Donald Trump on Wednesday, even before the final vote in the US presidential election was tallied. Støre stressed that the US remains Norway’s most important ally, while other Norwegians have branded Trump as “dangerous” and a threat to democracy.
Norwegian media seemed almost obsessed with coverage of the US election for weeks on end, and it continued through the night and on Wednesday. Norwegian TV channels ran non-stop election results, newspaper Aftenposten had devoted an entire issue to the election, and there’s been endless speculation over what would happen if the right-wing Republican Trump won over his Democratic challenger Kamala Harris. Newspaper Dagsavisen was among those editorializing that the result of the US election would be “decisive for our common future” since it poses “a global crossroads” at a time of great international unrest.
That’s why this election was covered in Norwegian media to a degree never seen before, also because “Trump is dangerous,” editorialized Dagsavisen. “He doesn’t give a damn. We’ve chosen to see what he’s willing to do, what he’s said, and the consequences of that. If Donald Trump wins, democracy can lose.” Harris also received lots of coverage in Norwegian media, and support in a country that’s intermittently been run by women over the past 40 years.
In the midst of all the news stories, editorials and public debate, Prime Minister Støre of the Labour Party had remained quiet regarding who he’d like to see win the presidency. So had his predecessor Erna Solberg, who still leads the Conservative Party and hopes to take over for Støre in Norway’s national election in September next year. Both top politicians were careful not to land Norway in a position that could prompt Trump to seek any revenge.
The US, Støre noted, “is important for the Norwegian economy, for Norwegian jobs and for Norwegian security.” He added that the US is also important when it comes to “solving global challenges,” while “security and defense policy remains the most important, and will continue to be.”
Solberg, meanwhile, managed to work with Trump’s White House during four out of her eight years as prime minister from 2013 to 2021. She was among few Norwegian prime ministers who’ve been invited to the White House over the years, and Norway itself is generally viewed as non-threatening and wealthy enough to be important for the US as well. As political commentator Kjetil B Alstadheim wryly noted in newspaper Aftenposten just before the US election, “fortunately, Norway isn’t a ‘shithole country,'” quoting one of Trump’s earlier assessments of various other nations.
There’s no question, though, that Trump’s re-election worries many in Norway and in other western democracies. It was surprising, since Trump has a criminal record, has refused to condemn his supporters’ assault on the Capitol and never accepted his election loss in 2020. News that Trump has had several phone conversations with Russian President Vladimir Putin also worries many, not least since Norway shares a border with Russia and firmly condemns Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. There are huge concerns that US support for Ukraine may dwindle under Trump, and encourage Putin to ignore borders and attack elsewhere.
Støre has acknowledged that Norway and other European countries must take more responsibility for their own security, and already have. Defense spending has shot up, Norwegian and US defense forces already cooperate well in Arctic areas and elsewhere, as illustrated with the arrival of another US aircraft carrier in Oslo just last week. Norway will also take part in US-led military exercises in the Pacific next year.
“We have a good relation between Norway and the US,” Støre told Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) on Wednesday. He also doesn’t think Trump will pull the US out of NATO, but conceded that Trump is unpredictable. That’s why Norway must keep working, Støre said, for long-term cooperation within the defense alliance.
Solberg agrees that Trump is unpredictable but, like Støre, stressed that the US remains Norway’s most important ally. She claimed she’s not worried about the consequences for NATO either, and noted how European countries have all boosted their contributions to defense. She’s more worried about the consequences of Trump’s re-election on trade, since he’s threatened to impose large tariffs on imports to the US.
“The most important thing we can do is to look out for Norwegian interests and work as well as we can so that Norwegian companies, Norwegian jobs and our security are taken care of no matter who is president in the US,” Solberg told NRK on Wednesday. The biggest challenge, she said, will be if Trump moves forward with higher customs barriers and protectionism that can disrupt international trade. She has also objected to Trump’s protectionistic tendencies in the past.
The leader of Norway’s most conservative party in Parliament, the Progress Party, seemed surprisingly the most concerned about Trump’s election to a second term as US president. Sylvi Listhaug, known as a big fan of the US, admitted to NRK that she had “hoped this election result would yield more certainty regarding NATO and signals tied to NATO.”
Listhaug is also concerned about Trump’s unpredictability. Norway, she said, must now strive for the best cooperation possible with the Trump administration, especially when it comes to NATO and national security. “We are so dependent on them, that’s what’s at the bottom of all this,” Listhaug told NRK. “Therefore it’s important to have a good relation. That’s important for all of Europe.”
Støre, Solberg and Listhaug, as leaders of Norway’s three largest parties, also agreed that it’s important that support for Ukraine is maintained, and that Russia won’t be given any opportunity to declare victory in its war on Ukraine.
“It’s important for Norway that Ukraine itself can decide how the war will end,” Listhaug said, adding that it’s important for all of Europe that Ukraine doesn’t lose. “I hope the US sees that it’s also important for them, and that Russia isn’t allowed to annex a neighbouring country,” she said. “That can potentially threaten NATO members and pose a challenge also for the US.”
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
