There was a sense of jubilation in Norway on Wednesday as results of the US mid-term elections rolled in throughout the day. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide got the ball rolling early Wednesday morning when he welcomed the Democrats’ victory in Congress live on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK)’s popular 15-minute debate program Politisk Kvarter.
“This has been a very strong victory for the Democrats, but also for democracy” in America, Eide said. He stressed how the election itself was carried out well without any major controversy, calling that “a victory in itself these days.”
Not even the US’ highly controversial president, Donald J Trump, contested the election results like he did when he lost the presidency in 2020. Trump publicly acknowledged the results after his Republican Party’s rival Democratic Party secured majorities in both the US House of Representatives and the Senate.
Eide’s comments came after NRK ran audio of the Democrats’ Chuck Schumer, the veteran Democratic senator from New York, all but bellowing that they’d recaptured power in Congress “against all odds.” He then added that “Relief is on the way.”
There was a sense of relief in Norway as well, following Trump’s recent tirade when he claimed at a Republican campaign rally that “Norway sucks,” and called Norway “a shithouse country.” There has been no apology for the undiplomatic outburst tied to Trump’s disappointment over failing once again to win the Nobel Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo by the independent Norwegian Nobel Committee.
It’s possible that the millions of Americans with Norwegian heritage took offense, including the many who vote Republican. Eide noted that he thinks the election results reflect “that voters have had enough of MAGA (Trump’s Make America Great Again campaign) and enough polarization.”
The Norwegian foreign minister also pointed to the “considerable shift of power” in the US and how Democratic candidates also prevailed in lots of local elections held all over the country. Asked whether he was glad about the election result, Eide replied that “I wish it welcome, because we will gladly have a US that’s as close as possible to us.” Eide is a longtime member of the Norwegian Labour Party, which is politically similar to the Democrats.
Eide also noted that having a Democratic majority in the US Congress also “means a lot for both domestic and foreign policy.” He noted that Trump has “lost his ability” to rule as he wants, with Eide stressing the many differences there are in policy between Democrats and Republicans, not least on current issues like artificial intelligence.
Eide noted, though, that Trump didn’t always use the majority he had in Congress as much as he could have, acting often alone with an enormous use of presidential “executive orders.” Now he has the majority against him, and could prompt Trump to spend more time on foreign policy instead of domestic policy. Eide noted that “when presidents lose a majority in one or two chambers, experience shows they become more pre-occupied with foreign policy” where he may have more control.
That could lead to new tariff policy, more attention on the war Trump launched against Iran, and on Ukraine, Eide thinks. “It can be that he’ll engage himself more outside the country because he has less power at home,” Eide said, “so it can go both ways.” He’s glad Trump isn’t challenging the election: “I think this is the beginning of the end for MAGA, and it will be very interesting to follow the Republic Party and all those who’ve been skeptical towards MAGA but didn’t dare speak up.”
Most important, according to Eide, is that democracy prevailed in the US. “The election result secures democracy in America,” he said.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
