Yesterday it became known that AUF leader Astrid Willa Eide Hoem is stepping down after four years in the leadership chair. Astrid and I were elected as leaders of each of our youth parties in October 2020, and have followed each other all the way. We disagree on most things.
There is no tradition for the leaders of AUF and Unge Høyre to thank each other at their national meetings, or in public in general.
I will make an exception.
Our common heritage and history
AUF, under Astrid’s leadership, has contributed to making Norway a slightly more decent society.
In connection with the ten-year marking after the terrorist attack on 22 July, the youth party initiated a public debate about how our society had safeguarded our common heritage and history. The party started the debate by publishing a book, which, among other things, was sent out to all the youth parties.
At the very beginning of the book there was one message:
Remember that it is okay to disagree with us.
It must have been absurd to invite a political discussion about the aftermath of a terrorist attack that hit one’s own party and one’s own friends, to then be accused of “using 22 July politically” or of “guzzling political opponents”. A fairly common accusation that has been directed at AUFs from time to time, and which also came in the spring of 2021.
The accusation is one of many examples of how we as a society reacted to the most serious attack on Norwegian democracy since the Second World War.
An important watershed
In the time leading up to the tenth anniversary, any approach to discussion was met with accusations of apportionment of blame, or that survivors made political use of the attack.
Before 2021, it was also not uncontroversial to point out that the attack was aimed at AUF, although it is a fairly sober description of what actually happened.
Reports show that a majority of the survivors experience harassment and threats. Not only among those who have subsequently gained prominent positions, but also among those who have sought to distance themselves from the public eye. Faced with threats, incitement and conspiracy theories, the AUF also stood alone for a very long time.
There is also something a little disgusting in how survivors have been discussed in the public debate. As if we outside were entitled to point the finger at those who saved their own lives.
Although we are not at the finish line now either, I experience the settlement after 22 July 2021 as a watershed. Astrid and AUF were the initiators themselves and were at the forefront of the work.
(By the way, the AUF likes to have stood alone after the terrorist attack. Utøya was built up by the youth party alone. And on the island they got a memorial site in place before the state with its resources could do it elsewhere.)
A language to talk about the difficult
Astrid gave a lecture for Unge Høyre, as the first leader of AUF. She shared her own story and answered all the questions she was asked. I think it helped to give many in Unge Høyre a language to talk about the terror. Before 2021, it felt like the attack was a matter we were not entitled to have an opinion on.
Over time, it contributed to the fact that we simply lacked the words that were needed.
Together, she and her deputy Gaute have allowed me to ask all the questions I have had about the terrorist attack and the time afterwards. No question has been too stupid and none too private. I have received honest and sincere answers, every single time.
It has certainly been tiring, because what they tell is sometimes shocking. I am very grateful that they have shared. Their experiences will always be a decisive part of modern Norwegian history.
I am therefore very much looking forward to Snorre Valen’s book on AUF’s history after the attack going to press. The book is written on behalf of the youth party.
Our shared responsibility
Although the attack was directed at AUF, it is not their responsibility to manage the legacy alone. It is a shared responsibility. Without AUF’s efforts under Astrid’s leadership, it would have been more difficult to achieve.
Regardless of party affiliation, age group and other preferences:
The work Astrid has participated in has made Norway a little more decent. She deserves thanks for that.
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This post was first published on Ola Svenneby’s Facebook page. It is reproduced with Svenneby’s permission.
