Source: Politics<\/p>\n
Norway\u2019s fans became famous around New York City for plopping down wherever they are and pretending to row like Vikings \u2014 in Times Square, in rain-drenched parking lots before matches and inside MetLife Stadium so vigorously the stadium swayed. Today they bring the “Viking row” to Boston for Norway’s heavyweight clash with France.<\/p>\n
For Norwegians, embracing ancestors known above all for rapacious pillaging is complicated stuff, but the country\u2019s leaders are hoping to send some modern messages about their country, too. Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Prince Sverre Magnus\u2019 first visit abroad without their parents was to cheer on Norway\u2019s first men\u2019s World Cup appearance in 28 years.<\/p>\n
A former member of parliament and foreign minister, Ambassador Anniken Huitfeldt was posted to Washington in 2024, just in time for the election of President Donald Trump. At a New York party for Norwegian fans, she was treated like a celebrity.<\/p>\n
When I met her in the crowd, another journalist from back home stopped to say hello. Some guys asked to be in a photo with her. After the interview was over and I was in the middle of a tailgate outside, a random Norwegian volunteered to help me understand some of the chants \u2013 and it turns out he said he knew her, too.<\/p>\n
This interview was conducted in English, and Huitfeldt\u2019s remarks have been edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n
This seems like an amazing exercise of soft power. The Viking army \u2014 you see Norwegians in the subway, on the escalators.<\/p>\n
I think it\u2019s been very important to how we look upon ourselves. Because the Viking history has always been important for Norwegians, but we never brag about it in a way. And we haven\u2019t focused that much about it.<\/p>\n
But here, it has really made us proud. And I think a lot of people were a little bit embarrassed at the beginning. But when they saw how well it was received here in the U.S., we have really taken part in it. So now we are super happy. I mean, everybody\u2019s joining.<\/p>\n
How are you using it for your job, beyond just sort of introducing Norway to Americans and North Americans? Is it helping you do diplomacy?<\/p>\n
We put a lot of effort in social media. We have given interviews before to POLITICO about our chef<\/a> and diplomacy, and we\u2019ve got so much attention. But the video where we are rowing<\/a>, the staff at the embassy, has been spread to 3 million people.\u00a0[It had more than 4 million views by Wednesday.]<\/p>\n Hard pivot to foreign policy: Are you looking for anything in particular out of the NATO meeting this week with the president? Is there something Norway would like to see?<\/p>\n I think it\u2019s very important to focus on how European countries over the years have really stepped up. And now it\u2019s a pretty good deal for the U.S., I think, the whole NATO package. Because we spend more on defense than the U.S. does when it comes to GDP, and at the same time we purchase very much of the weapons from the U.S. that we send to Ukraine.<\/p>\n And not to forget how we are taking care of American security up in the high north. I mean all those nuclear weapons on the Kola Peninsula \u2014 the biggest nuclear arsenal in the world \u2014 those weapons are not directed at Oslo, but at the United States. So we are also taking care of American homeland security up in the high north. So it\u2019s a pretty good package for the American people, the cooperation that we have in NATO.<\/p>\n How has the Trump administration\u2019s positioning towards the Arctic, towards Greenland, towards other things, changed your job, or what you expected your job to be?<\/p>\n Well, it has been challenging, especially when it comes to Greenland, where we have been very united with the other European countries. I think we have been very coordinated in how we talk about this, and for us it\u2019s extremely important that we don\u2019t change the geography and borders up in the high north.<\/p>\n