Vraket RU leader proposes new youth team in Rødt – NRK Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country

– There has been a negative development over time. I think this weekend’s performance was probably the last straw, says Liv Müller Smith-Sivertsen to NRK.

She has decided to resign from Rød Ungdom, as her predecessor as RU leader, Alberte Bekkhus, did yesterday. And the two are by no means alone, according to Smith-Sivertsen.

– Since the national meeting, I have been contacted by members of Red Youth who want to opt out. But they want to be active in Rødt, because they believe in the project. Rødt must be ready to welcome these young people, she says.

The conflicts in Rød Ungdom have been going on for some time and peaked at the national meeting in April, when the election committee’s recommendation for new leadership was completely overturned. Liv Møller Smith-Sivertsen and around 20 other delegates ended up pulling out of the national meeting.

NRK has been in contact with leader Amrit Kaur in Rød Ungdom. She does not want to be interviewed about the matter on Sunday evening.

Kaur received a lot of backlash over the weekend after publishing a TikTok video in which she called Jonas Gahr Støre and Jens Stoltenberg terrorists.

After criticism from the Rødt leader and several others, she apologized for the statement and deleted the video.

New batch?

Smith-Sivertsen says there are many different ways to channel the young people’s involvement, but stresses that no decision has yet been made.

– Something we have looked at is whether it is possible to establish a youth team in Rødt, says Smith-Sivertsen.

– If not, then it is about getting these young people into the local teams. But then it must also be ensured that the local teams have activities that are suitable for young people. After all, they want to be out in the streets more and leave their mark on politics. And maybe don’t like sitting in the long meetings as much, she continues.

– Could it be an alternative to establish a new youth party?

– I know that some people want that, but this is not something you should rush into. It is something you have to think about carefully.

– What do you think of the development in Rød Ungdom?

– I think it is very sad. After all, there has been a negative development over time, for which several people must be held responsible. But as it is now, it’s very sad.

– But Rød Ungdom recently had a national meeting and chose a new leadership and a new direction. Is this a «thanks for last» from a leader who ended up being wrecked?

– No, my time in Rød Ungdom is over, and it’s going just fine. So I wish them the best of luck with their future work.

– Worrying

Rødt’s acting party secretary Stine Westrum tells NRK that it is important for the party to find room for the young people who are now opting out of RU.

– It is worrying that young people are opting out, but good that they still have a political project that they want to take part in, she says.

– Our goal is that young people will find an outlet for their political commitment and hopefully within our ranks, but we have no further answer to how that will happen than that it will happen within the structure of our local and county teams, continues Westrum.

Two-thirds of those entitled to vote at the national meeting of Rød Ungdom voted for Amrit Kaur as the new leader. On Saturday, she apologized and withdrew the description of Jens Stoltenberg and Jonas Gahr Støre as “terrorists”.

– There are many who felt that the cup ran over with the weekend’s statement. But it is also about the extent to which Red Youth and Red should be a narrow project for those who have read the entire Marx library or whether it should be a mass movement that embraces everyone – from boys on vocational subjects to girls on specialisations, says Smith-Sivertsen and continues:

– I want a party about the youth movement for people who have not grown up discussing politics around the dinner table.