– I hope Norway manages to preserve the Norwegian political environment, where we disagree on issues but are still good colleagues. We all want the best for the Norwegian people, but we may disagree about the measures, says Carl I. Hagen.
The man who has left the biggest mark on the Norwegian political right after the war, and who has faced more political opposition than most, turns 80 on Monday. He does this by going to work in the Storting and celebrating with his family in the garden in west Oslo in the afternoon.
Today, Hagen enjoys sitting on the back bench and watching the younger generations chisel out Norwegian politics from the pulpit, knowing that he has made a significant contribution to how that politics is chiselled.
For now, the Progress Party is a significant power factor. In 2021, the party dropped six percentage points and ended up with 21 representatives in the Storting. A bad choice, but adventurous compared to Hagen’s first year.
The worst night
When Carl I. Hagen took over as Frp leader in 1978, the party had zero representatives in the Storting. At the parliamentary election in 1981, they fought their way in with four representatives. That year, 4.5 percent of Norway’s population voted for the FRP.
In 1985, support fell to 3.7 per cent and the Frp was close to being kicked out of the Storting.
– The parliamentary election in 1985 was my worst night ever, Carl I. Hagen tells Nettavisen today.
Two years earlier, the young party leader had married Frp secretary Eli. They were both dependent on the income from the Storting.
– If the FRP had been out of the Storting, neither Eli nor I would have had anything to live on. Back then, Carl I. Hagen would not have been a sought-after person on the job market. I had ended up at Nav, says Hagen.
The fallow election
But he was allowed to keep his job at Løvebakken, as one of two Frp representatives in the Storting. After that it only went up.
Four years later – in the 1989 parliamentary election – the party made a landslide election. From 3.7 percent support in 1985, the party now received 13 percent of the vote. From having been two Frp-ers in the Storting, they now became 22 representatives. From being a small, marginal party, Hagen had lifted the FRP to become the country’s third largest party – and that in four years.
Despite the significant support, Hagen continued to be an opposition politician, unwanted in government alternatives also on the bourgeois side, partly because of his restrictive stance on immigration. That attitude has not changed.
– Today I see a significant challenge in the emergence of leniency towards those who require special treatment in Norway. Especially among Muslims who demand that we change our culture, our form of society and what we stand for. There are many examples of that, for example the debate about allowing the hijab in the police. These are often small things in themselves, but in sum it can add up to a lot. My attitude has been the same for 50 years. Those who move here must learn Norwegian and adapt to the Norwegian culture, just as everyone must adapt to the culture of the country they are moving to. says Carl I. Hagen.
Below you can see Carl I. Hagen arguing for his views on immigration in 1977. The article continues below the window.
Only after Siv Jensen took over as party leader in 2006 did the FRP become an acceptable partner when bourgeois governments were to be formed. Today, the FRP has become a natural part of the bourgeois government alternative.
– Today’s FRP is more moderate and popular than when I was leader. When we were building up the party, we had to be more populist, but today, after being in government for several years, the world looks different. FRP has become an established party with many talented people, says Hagen.
Velle and the future
When Carl I. Hagen celebrates his 80th birthday on Monday with his family and friends in the garden on Oslo’s western edge, it is with a good feeling for the Frp’s future. Through his place in the Storting and his involvement in the party, he meets new generations who will take the party forward.
– I am very optimistic on behalf of the party. There are many bright young people who seem upbeat. Simen Velle is an obvious candidate. I give him my full support, even after the idiotic things he did as an 18-, 19-year-old became known. He made a mistake and has admitted it. Politics needs people of flesh and blood who have made mistakes, says Hagen and adds:
– We have many alternative solutions in many areas. Why the Conservative Party is the largest party on the bourgeois side is incomprehensible. In many areas, the party is just another alternative to the Labor Party.
– Do you have any advice for young people who want to make a career in politics today? How did you stand firm through the many ups and downs?
– Look ahead. Find solutions on how to get through it in a good way. If you are in a very difficult situation, remember that things pass.
– Looking back, do you have any things you regret, and would like to have done differently?
– Yes, but I’m not going to say that. It does no good to focus on what I could have done differently. I would rather focus on everything that was good, says Hagen.
