Norwegian PM worried about Musk’s international power plays

Musk, one of the president-elect’s main allies donald trumphas attracted attention in recent weeks for backing Germany’s right-wing Alternative für Deutschland party and calling for the UK to make crucial leadership changes.

Responding on Monday to a question about whether he was concerned about Musk inserting himself into Norwegian politics, Støre responded: “I am concerned that a man with enormous access to social media and huge financial resources would be so directly involved in the internal affairs of other countries. “. .”

“This is not how things should be between democracies and allies,” Støre told NRK, Norway’s state broadcaster.

Støre has led Norway’s left-wing Labor Party since 2014. He faces a domestic standoff and plummeting favorability ratings ahead of September elections, with some party members calling for the prime minister to resign.

The political environment in Norway resembles that of Germany and the United Kingdom, where Musk called for change as left-wing ruling parties faced declining public approval ratings.

In Germany, Musk has endorsed AfD as an alternative to the country’s leftist Social Democratic Party, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz. Faced with growing competition from the right-wing party, senior German officials have condemned Musk’s move, accusing him of “trying to influence the federal election.” Ahead of the February elections in Germany, the billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX will hold a live debate this week on his X platform with AfD chancellor candidate Alice Weidel.

Musk has also called for the resignation of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Instead, the tech tycoon backs the UK’s alternative reform party, but has called for Nigel Farage, the group’s leader, to be replaced, saying he “doesn’t have what it takes”.

As in the United Kingdom and Germany, momentum on the political right has grown in Norway as polls show the country is increasingly disillusioned with the current government.

“This is a crisis, we can’t talk about it,” Hedda Foss Five, the Labor-aligned mayor of Skien, Norway, told NRK in September 2023 after being ousted by Marius Roheim Aarvold, who took advantage of widespread discontent with the government. status quo to become the borough’s first conservative mayor in about two decades. “I don’t think our policy is working, it’s not helping people and they don’t think it’s important.”

According to an analysis of NRK. The populist FrP favors policies including reducing government bureaucracy, immigration reform and reducing taxes.

“I think people see that FrP is absolutely necessary if we want to take a new direction,” Listhaug told the outlet. “The Labor Party and the Conservative Party have become quite similar to each other in some areas.”

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

However, if Musk supports the FrP, he can expect to face immediate backlash from the country’s sitting elected officials.

“If we saw (Musk’s political involvement) in Norway, I hope and assume that a united Norwegian political environment would warn and distance itself from it,” Støre said.