It was raining, some will say fittingly, as Barack Obama arrived in Oslo this morning to receive his much-remarked-on Nobel Prize. So bad was the weather, in fact, that Obama was forced to make the trip from the airport to the downtown Nobel Peace Institute in convoy, the usually busy E6 motorway out of town being closed to allow smooth passage.
The Norwegians are used to awful weather, of course, but they aren’t used to all this: the helicopters circling overhead, the roads blocked to regular traffic, the probing pat-down of security checks as they make their way around town. Their country has, on the whole, resisted the arrival of Starbucks and other trappings of American culture (Marshall aid excepted, perhaps) — much more so than the UK, say.
Today, though, they are getting a real taste of America. “Ninety-two million Kroner extra”, announced Dagsavisen recently about security arrangements for Obama’s visit, only for the figure to be revised upwards by several million kroner a week later. That’s the sort of money that would normally go into municipal works, such as district heating, in this part of the world. But today the Christmas market in the large open plaza that abuts the harbour has been closed (it was a security threat), a whole section of town has been cordoned off, and there are more police about than the country even knew it had. The daily Dagbladet has labelled all the fuss “Operation Nobel”.
For this, and other reasons, the decision to give this award to the president of the United States of America in just his first year in office is no more universally popular in Norway than it has been around the world. In the lead-up to his visit, some have grumbled about how Obama has cut down on the number of activities the winner is usually expected to undertake. And more than a few have questioned the extra fuss being made about him. But this is what happens when a standing president wins. The Norwegians really have only themselves to thank.
Yet today, their problem is also Obama’s problem, for what happens when a Peace Prize-winner announces a troop surge to a war zone, as Obama has done in Afghanistan, is yet to be established. The president was apparently working on that particular aspect of his speech on the flight over from Washington.
On arriving in Norway, Obama made the Nobel Prize Institute his first stop. There, he didn’t just sign the book, he practically wrote an essay in it. I would hazard there was more than a penny for those particular thoughts. Left-handed Obama then handed over to right-handed Michelle as she, too, signed the book and he stood back, joking politely with Nobel Committee members.
For a minute, as he looked down, he appeared distinctly proud. But when he turned to the committee — and perhaps an indication of the tone of the speech to come this afternoon — he deflected attention from himself. It was their work promoting the cause of peace that he thanked them for.
Then it was off again, to Oslo’s regjeringens kvartaler — the government district — where he was to meet the Norwegian prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg. Later (around 2pm UK time) Obama will formally receive his prize and give his acceptance speech. Perhaps the weather will have cleared by then.
Follow the New Statesman team on Twitter
Content from our partners
Related
