‘Too White’: Norway’s New Government Grilled for ‘Lack of Diversity’
Among the 68 ministers and secretaries in Norway’s new government, only two appear to be of minority background, despite one in six Norwegians currently being of immigrant background. This overwhelming “whiteness” has triggered fierce criticism from human rights activists.
Numerous human rights organizations and critics, including the Norwegian Center Against Racism, have slammed Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s newly-formed cabinet for failing to “reflect the population.”
Vi ønsker statsråd @jantoresanner lykke til i nytt departement og ønsker Monica Mæland velkommen til oss som ny kommunal- og moderniseringsminister. pic.twitter.com/Wqsh1cGSqE
— Kommunal- og moddep (@km_dep) January 17, 2018
Rune Berglund Steen, who is the head of the NGO, went so far as to say that the “lack of diversity” represented a “democratic problem.”
“Even Trump’s government has more people with ethnic minority backgrounds than the Norwegian government,” Steen told national broadcaster NRK, venturing that those in power must reflect the general population and suggesting that a failure to do so constituted a severe problem.
Den utvidede regjeringen har fått blomster og gratulasjoner på Slottsplassen. @erna_solberg, @Siv_Jensen_FrP og @Trinesg presenterer dem på en pressekonferanse klokka 14.45: https://t.co/XA9dGtblEW pic.twitter.com/B6xqo9L0NT
— SMK (@Statsmin_kontor) January 17, 2018
Steen stated that diversity in politics was “healthy” and that people with minority backgrounds clearly contributed to a more inclusive policy.
Regjeringen Solberg har fått nye statsråder. Se flere bilder fra dagen:https://t.co/jgM6QQQFai pic.twitter.com/doUbKZTfTA
— SMK (@Statsmin_kontor) January 17, 2018
“This is the most overwhelmingly white government in Europe right now. It is hair-raising that they somehow failed to find a single minister and several secretaries with multicultural backgrounds in 2018,” political commentator Arne Strand told NRK, venturing that it sent a signal as if the government did not care about integration in practice, again drawing parallels with Trump’s government, which has several “multicultural representatives.”
Read the rest at American Renaissance.
