Harald Stanghelle, political editor of Norway’s Aftenposten conservative newspaper, said it was unfair to accuse Norway’s anti-immigrant Progress Party of inflaming the passions of individuals such as Breivik, who was once a member.
Stanghelle says Breivik left the party because it did not go far enough in representing his views, highlighting a dilemma for those who say parties that drive away those with fringe views on immigration risk creating militant underground groups.
“It’s totally wrong to hold the Progress Party responsible for extremists like this. A few smaller, anti-immigration groups, anti-multicultural groups, have broken from the party because they believe it is too polite, too mainstream,” Stanghelle said.
Stanghelle was careful to paint Breivik as a lone extremist with little link to the wider discourse on immigration in Norway. After years on the fringes, Breivik’s views are now likely to echo loudest at his first court hearing on Monday.
Breivik has described his bombing of an Oslo government building and his shooting spree at a youth camp run by Norway’s Labour Party as “atrocious” but “necessary” in his crusade against liberal immigration policies and the spread of Islam.
“He now wants to meet in court for the first time, and wants an open court meeting, and why? Most criminals fight for a closed court meeting, but he sees himself as a crusader,” Stanghelle said.