There is a strange silence descending over the country when the people finally raise their voice.
We all remember how the high fuel prices led to what many called the diesel roar (dieselbrølet), but in the corridors of power in Oslo they were quick to find ways to stifle this discontent. For that is how the power elite functions in Norway today. They pretend to listen, while in reality merely waiting for the rage to subside of its own accord.
Many have by now grown weary of politicians who speak warmly of the districts during election campaigns, only to turn their backs on them when everyday life returns. When petrol prices passed thirty kroner per litre, it was a clear sign of a government that has lost touch with the people they are set to serve. Or “should have served”, is the correct way to write it. For politicians today are by no means servants of anyone, but an aristocracy that regards itself as our masters.
What is most striking is how the authorities and parts of the press collaborate to neutralise such popular uprisings as the diesel roar. One sees it every single time people attempt to organise themselves outside the established frameworks. Suddenly experts appear who tell us that we must understand the “green transition”, or that the prices are the result of international conditions that we cannot control.
Asker 10.04.2026
The diesel roar activists on their way to Oslo to demonstrate against high fuel duties.
It is an effective way of making people feel foolish. If you complain about the price of diesel, you are labelled as someone who does not understand the seriousness of the climate crisis or as someone who is working against the community of which we are all supposed to be a part.
Neither the Centre Party (Senterpartiet) nor the other parties in the government offices appear to have grasped the depth of this frustration. They come up with small cuts here and there that are barely noticeable in people’s wallets, and then expect gratitude from the voters. It is as though they believe they can buy themselves free of the people’s wrath with a few øre in discount.
We have seen this pattern repeated time and again, and it is in the process of creating a deep distrust of the political system. People notice when they are being made fools of, and they see that those who hold power protect their own interests rather than listening to those who actually keep the wheels turning.
I have seen similar tendencies abroad, where the authorities use the same methods to control the population. It is a matter of capturing discontent before it becomes too great, and then wrapping it in harmless committees or symbolic measures. It is a form of political firefighting that may work in the short term, but which leaves behind a smouldering anger among the people.
Norway often appears as the very honeypot for those who want free benefits, but for those who actually contribute and pay for the feast, the road grows ever heavier to travel.
Ultimately, it is a question of who is to have the power to define reality in this country. Is it those who feel the high prices in their bodies every single day, or is it those who sit securely in their offices and calculate what we are supposed to endure. The true diesel roar may have been stifled this time, but the discontent does not disappear so easily. It lives on in a thousand homes, where people have grown weary of an elite that has more concern for the system than for the people who live here.
It is a dangerous path for a democracy that likes to adorn itself with concepts such as “openness” and “popular anchoring”.