Former NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg traveled across Europe demanding increased NATO defense spending and significant support for Ukraine. Today, he is Norway’s finance minister.
It’s strange how things develop; we don’t hear much from the former NATO Secretary General and former Prime Minister of Norway, who comes from the Labour Party. It is often said that socialists are always ready to use other people’s money. But perhaps Stoltenberg is an exception. If anyone knows what Ukraine needs, it’s him. He also knows that Norway is a very wealthy country.
Just in the oil fund, there are 12,500 billion Danish kroner, or 19,755 billion Norwegian kroner, or 1,676.5 billion euros, or 1,754.8 billion dollars.
Time will tell if he has the will to get the Norwegian government to give Ukraine, for example, just 10 billion more Norwegian kroner. Then there would still be 19,745 billion Norwegian kroner in the oil fund.
Denmark has contributed 60 billion Danish kroner.
According to dr.dk’s headline:
“Norway is the richest country in the Nordics – but also the Nordic country that donates the least to Ukraine. Norway is currently spending less of its gross domestic product on support for Ukraine than Denmark.”
But as nrk.no reports, the Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre visited Ukraine on the third anniversary of the Russian invasion. He brought with him a promise of both civilian and military contributions. Norway has committed to giving at least 155 billion kroner to Ukraine through the Nansen program until 2030. For 2025, 35 billion kroner have already been allocated, of which 22.5 billion will go to military support and 12.5 billion to civilian purposes.
It must be amazing in wartime to save over 19,000 billion Norwegian kroner for posterity and Norwegian descendants. But we must hope that they will give an extra coin to the brave and war-weary Ukrainian people. Those who have the ability have the will.
I also thought about the saying: “The strongest shoulders must bear the burden” is a central principle in social democratic and socialist thought. It means that those who have the most resources and greatest capacity should contribute the most to the community and help those who are less privileged. This principle reflects a belief in solidarity and social justice, seeking to reduce inequality and ensure that everyone has access to the basic necessities of life.
