It has been a turbulent summer of royal proportions. A controversial princess wedding. A crown princess’s son in solitary confinement. And royal monograms on gin bottles. – We have had a doubling of new members during the summer, and today have more than 500 members, says Craig Aaen-Stockdale. He heads the association “Norway as a Republic”, and works to abolish the monarchy in Norway. news meets Aaen-Stockdale outside the country’s foremost symbol of the monarchy, namely the Castle. He believes that the monarchy does not belong in 2024. Photo: Laik Hanbaly / news Aaen-Stockdale is originally from Great Britain, and received Norwegian citizenship only two years ago. But he has always been a Republican. – I also worked for the abolition of the monarchy at home in Great Britain. For me it’s not about the royal families themselves, they are certainly nice. – For me, this is a matter of principle. Power should not be inherited. news has contacted the Royal House, which informs in an e-mail that they do not wish to comment on the actions of the association “Norway as a Republic”. Marius Borg Høiby, son of Crown Princess Mette Marit, is charged with bodily harm and damage after a violent incident at Frogner in Oslo on the night of 4 August. He also admits to using violence while intoxicated with cocaine. The Norwegian Directorate of Health concluded in August that the gin made for Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett’s wedding broke the Alcohol Act and the ban on alcohol advertising. – The couple has behaved problematically, the Directorate of Health then believed. Many criticized the wedding of Princess Märtha Louise and Durek Verrett. Sales of cloth, promotion and agreements in connection with the wedding created fierce debate. British Hello also got exclusive rights and was allowed to cover the wedding. Declining support An news poll shows that almost four out of ten have had a more negative view of the royal house since May this year. The vast majority of them state Princess Märtha Louise, Durek Verrett and the case related to Marius Borg Høiby as the reason for the change in attitude. In 2017, the monarchy had the support of 81 percent of the Norwegian people. Today, only 62 percent say they support the monarchy. – Many are dissatisfied with both the royal family and the monarchy as a form of government, claims Aaen-Stockdale, who also points to an increase in followers on social media during the summer. The association Norway as a Republic believes that the monarchy belongs in fairytale books and not in a free and modern country like Norway. That is why they want a transition to a republic. Photo: Laik Hanbaly / news – But the monarch only has symbolic power in Norway. Why is it so important to remove the person from power? – He does not have symbolic power, he has political power. They have special privileges in relation to the constitution. We also get very little for the money we spend on the royal family, claims Aaen-Stockdale. In the proposal for the state budget, the government proposes to give the royal house NOK 316.8 million. – A single family should not be exalted to the divine and live a life of luxury at the people’s expense, he says. – What are the advantages of a republic, then? – An advantage is that the people themselves decide who will lead the country. With Haakon, we get him whether we want it or not. Whether he will be a good or bad king we do not know, he says and adds: – So it is a bit like throwing dice with the country’s future. The Republic of Norway But what would a Norwegian republic have looked like? Today there are 150 republics in the world. Among these there are both democracies and dictatorships. The last time the Storting debated whether Norway should change its form of government to a republic was in 2022. Then only 35 out of 169 representatives voted in favor, according to the Storting itself. Dag Einar Thorsen, associate professor at the University of Southeast Norway, says that a potential transition to a republic would have been undramatic in a country like Norway. Dag Einar Thorsen, associate professor at the University of Southeast Norway. Photo: Laik Hanbaly / news – You only replace the king with a person who is elected directly or indirectly by the people for a limited period, Thorsen explains. He points to the United States, France and Germany as possible republics for inspiration. Andrew Harnik / NTB USA The USA is a republic where a popularly elected president is both head of state and head of government. In political science, this is called a presidential system. The American system gives the president some power, including that he can issue so-called presidential orders. These orders are federal agencies obliged to follow up. Reuters France In several European republics, such as in France and Finland, there is a so-called semi-presidential system. Here, power is distributed between a government led by a prime minister and a popularly elected president who appoints the government, of which he himself is not a member. Since there are different decisions that determine who who becomes president and prime minister, this can lead to different parties ruling the country at the same time. AFP Germany A third type of democratic republic is the parliament that decides who will be president. Many parliamentary democracies, as they are called, have a president who is formally the country’s head of state, but that person has little political power except in times of crisis. Germany, Italy and Iceland are all parliamentary republics. Thorsen explains that a transition to a republic requires extensive changes, in the sense that a large number of sections must either be changed or repealed. – In addition, it requires a two-thirds majority in the Storting since there had been a constitutional amendment. But for most Norwegians, there would have been minimal changes in our everyday life, he says. Dag Einar Thorsen, associate professor at the University of Southeast Norway, says that a potential transition to a republic would have been undramatic in a country like Norway. Photo: Laik Hanbaly / news He says that the proposal to change the form of government to a republic has been voted on many times since independence from Sweden. But it has never come close to getting a majority. 21-year-old Ole Christoffer Tangerud from Modum is happy about that. PROUD ROYALIST: – As a child, I remember thinking that King Harald had a scepter that could give eternal life, says Ole Christoffer Tangerud from Modum, laughing. Photo: Eli Bondlid – Some of the best things about Norge Fargene. The clothes. The jewelry. The scandals. There is much about the European royal families that fascinates. Tangerud, who also represents the Right in Modum municipality, believes the royal family is one of the best things about Norway. He has meant that since he was a little boy. – As a child, I remember thinking that King Harald had a scepter that could give eternal life, says Tangerud and laughs. Ole Christoffer Tangerud has received letters from several European royal houses. Photo: Eli Bondlid The 21-year-old, who grew up in a proud royalist family, says that he has never met anyone in the Norwegian royal family himself – but has sat in the same cinema as Queen Sonja and Crown Princess Mette-Marit. – It was magical, it almost felt like I was going to pass out. Ole Christoffer Tangerud has received letters from several European royal houses. Photo: Eli Bondlid – Why is the royal family important to you? – They bring the people together. They are also incredibly good representatives of what we stand for. They work for the people and the country, where they do a better job than politicians, if you ask me. Tangerud refers to how the royal family, especially in times of crisis, has rallied the people. – Who can forget King Harald’s sensitive and genuine speech after 22 July or the king’s inclusive speech at Slottsparken, asks the 21-year-old. The king welcomed the garden party in Dronningparken by reminding everyone that Norway is not just mountains and deep fjords, but above all people. Speech from 2016. – What about all the recent events? Has it affected what you think about the royal family? – There are of course serious matters, but none of the scandals concern the core of the royal house, so I believe that it does not harm them. At the same time, he believes that many of the arguments of those who want to abolish the monarchy do not hold water. – We allocate money to far less important things than the monarchy. So in that sense, we get a lot in relation to what we spend money on, claims Tangerud.
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The dream of a republic – will abolish the monarchy – Buskerud
