comments expresses the writer’s opinions.
Presumably the FRP had planned the cleanest victory party at the national board meeting at the weekend.
Recently, the Progressive Party has been bigger than Labor in the opinion polls, and has even been breathing down the Conservative Party’s neck. The foundations had now been laid for the clean march towards the elections in the autumn, the party strategists probably thought.
But then the party’s loose cannon Per-Willy Amundsen came on deck.
“Islamists who speak out here can go to hell. I will do everything I can to send you home to your homeland,” was one of the messages he posted on Facebook on Thursday evening.
“Islam has a whole gang of psychopaths who kill,” said another – which was later deleted.
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Supports Amundsen’s Islam plot: – The politicians act as “sociologists” and deny that evil exists
Of course, the reactions were not long in coming, particularly because Amundsen actually sits as chairman of the Storting’s justice committee.
And when Frp leader Sylvi Listhaug herself had to come out and apologize, we understand that it is serious:
– I am satisfied that Per-Willy has removed and acknowledges that he should not have written what he did on Facebook. This was of course something the party does not stand for, she told several media.
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Listhaug comments on Amundsen’s shock statements
She did not comment on whether it would have consequences for his place in the justice committee, but added:
– We expect our parliamentary representatives to rise above such a heated level of debate in social media. We will follow up on this matter internally.
For the Progress Party, the issue can probably go both ways.
The party undoubtedly has members and voters who support Amundsen’s outburst. But the party probably has more voters who do not.
The party’s strong growth is probably due precisely to the fact that the party has managed to stay away from such extreme schemes. And that Sylvi Listhaug has largely managed to profile the party as a more moderate people’s party.
So far the consequence for the Progress Party.
Far more serious, I think, is that Per-Willy Amundsen destroys ordinary criticism of religion with such schemes.
It is, for example, such outbursts that contribute to the fear of touch that columnist Anders Magnus writes about in the comment “Shit aw, it’s not so dangerous with these women”.
After all, we don’t want to be beaten to death by right-wing extremists or Muslim haters.
And worse:
With such hateful outbursts, Per-Willy Amundsen also pushes ordinary Muslims away.
Read more comments from Erik Stephansen
These are people who basically think the same about extreme Islamists and conservative imams like Amundsen.
Who would like to be integrated into Norwegian society, and who are completely on the same page as Norwegians in most matters. But who, in the face of general, condescending or hateful statements about Muslims and Islam, rather sympathize with “their own”.
Pretty much the same thing that happens every time Sian stands up and burns Korans, that is.
Group solidarity, it is called, and is quite common in almost all human relationships.