Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize: Reactions from Norway, Sweden, Russia

U.S. President Barack Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, October 9th, for giving the world „hope for a better future.“

The Norwegian Nobel Committee hailed Obama’s „extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.”

News of Obama’s award was for the most part positively received in countries such as Norway and Sweden.

But with that acceptance comes a strong message to the fledgling president that he now has to achieve results on issues such as nuclear non-proliferation and climate change.

[Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director, PRIO]:
„I think this a very daring choice, this a break with Nobel tradition in that the prize is awarded to somebody who has drawn up a very tall international agenda but is still very new in the post and has yet to deliver on that agenda.“

PRIO is an independent research institute involved in working for peace through conflict resolution, dialogue and reconciliation, public information and policymaking activities.

Every year a PRIO director speculates on who might win the prestigious award.

Barack Obama was not on current director Kristian Berg Harpviken’s list of picks.

But he says the peace prize committee could have chosen Obama to give him extra political capital in his efforts in different fields.

[Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director, PRIO]:
“He has also put major issues on the agenda, such as nuclear disarmament, the conflict in the Middle East. But he has some tricky issues to deal with such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Obviously the committee has had great faith in Obama’s ability to deliver on his promises and has chosen to give him the extra political capital that the prize represents.“

Many people in Oslo have reservations about the Nobel committee’s choice.

[Unidentified Man]:
„He has not been long enough in yet office to really have shown something I think.“

[Unidentified Man]:
„It is probably a bit early. I would have hoped he would get it a bit later, after he actually has achieved the things he has been promising.“

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt says the prize has given the U.S. President a unique mandate to achieve things.

[Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, Swedish Prime Minister]:
„Well, it’s a bit different but I think they’ve said that let’s give it to a politician who is in the beginning of his mandate who has a mandate for change and who has reached out to the world with his talks about hope and that has given him a completely unique mandate in the world of today that you can only see with U.S. presidents actually and not with every U.S. president.“

In Russia some say that Obama is doing a good job but winning the Nobel Prize has come too early in his term.

[Boris Polikov, Moscow Resident]:
„I think the fact that he abandoned plans to site the missile shield in Poland and Czechoslovakia (sic) has improved relations between Russia and the U.S.“

[Maxim, Moscow Resident]:
“Obama has got the prize early, he’s got things to do but he hasn’t done them yet, but he’s charming, just for this he could be awarded a prize.“

Carnegie Foundation analyst Maria Lipman basically agrees and adds:

[Maria Lipman, Carnegie Foundation Analyst]:
„It’s true that now Russia and the U.S.A. are closer to signing some agreements on reducing nuclear weapons, than say six months ago, today both countries are with more conviction that a final deal will be signed by the end of the year, but up to now it still hasn’t been signed, up till now it is just – yes agreed, more confident –  proposals. Even the signing of such an agreement it seems to me is not enough to merit getting the Nobel prize.“

The Nobel Peace Prize will be presented at a ceremony in Oslo in December 10th.

(NTDTV)