Nominations by the Conservatives
Soreide has been nominated as the new leader of the Conservatives (Hoyre), with Asheim and Svenneby proposed as deputy leaders. Together, they form a trio with solid experience. However, they also represent the liberalism which is steadily losing ground.
September 12, 2025 | NORWEGIAN POLITICS
Asheim, Soreide and Svenneby, image; Hoyre.no
It now remains to be seen whether the trio of Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide, Henrik Asheim and Ola Svenneby will be elected at the party congress in February next year. The proposed lineup has not been met with unanimous approval. This is not about the candidates’ political qualifications, but about the fact that the leadership is entirely based in eastern Norway, has limited experience outside politics, and that none of them lives a traditional family life. Read more about the candidates further down.
In politics, as in most other things, a sense of belonging is created by identity. A political party depends on voters being able to identify with it. This has already been a challenge for the Conservatives, and it appears likely to continue with the new leadership trio. Some voters will join, while others will fall away. Whether this results in growth depends entirely on whether the trio changes the political direction.
Most of us base our political choices on belief systems; they may be religious, philosophical, economic or scientific. But not everyone is equally aware of how central these belief systems are when we make choices in life. Everyone should reassess them from time to time — as the Norwegian mountain safety rules put it: there is no shame in turning back. Political parties should do the same, especially in strong headwinds. Read more about belief systems and how they affect both you and politics here.
When it comes to the Conservatives, party policy is more closely aligned with a liberal belief system than with conservatism, even though the party is, by definition, conservative. The long-standing liberal wave is weakening, not only in Norway but across the Western world. The poor election results of both the Conservatives and the Liberal Party reflect this shift. In the wake of the election, it is reasonable to interpret the outcome as conservative-leaning Conservative voters having moved to the Progress Party, which explicitly promotes a values-based conservative policy. Read more about the conservative wave in Norway here.
The question, then, is how the Conservatives should adapt their policies to a new era. The pressure does not come only from Norwegian voters, but also from the United States. In the US National Security Strategy, Trump makes it clear that the United States will support countries and politicians who share its vision for the Western Hemisphere. This is likely to intensify the conservative wave across Europe, whether we like it or not. Read more here.
Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide has already argued in several debates this autumn in favor of EU membership. This suggests that the Conservatives may make EU membership their main issue. In a new EU poll published by VG today, the no side has risen to 53 percent, while the yes side stands at 33 percent, a gap of 20 points. The EU is facing major challenges in defining its role in the new geopolitical landscape. The Conservatives would likely face strong headwinds if the party were to make EU membership its flagship cause. Instead, the Conservatives need an entirely new, non-liberal issue with broad appeal.
Here is a short presentation of the nominated candidates:
Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide is 49 years old. She grew up in Strommen outside Oslo and in Tromso. She is divorced from Oystein Soreide, has no children, and lives in Valerenga. She earned her law degree in 2007. She began her political career as deputy leader of Troms Young Conservatives in 1995, held several positions, and became a member of the Conservatives’ central board in 2000. She was elected to parliament in 2001 for the Oslo constituency. She served as minister of defense from 2013 to 2017 and as minister of foreign affairs from 2017 to 2021 in the Solberg government.
Henrik Asheim is 42 and comes from Baerum. He has been open about being gay and lives with his partner, Simon Stisen. Asheim studied at BI for one year but left when he was elected to parliament in 2013. He began his career as leader of Young Conservatives in Baerum and became national leader of Young Conservatives in 2008. He served on the Baerum municipal council and the Akershus county council from 2007 to 2011. In 2020, he was appointed minister of research and higher education, a position he held until the Conservatives left government in 2021. From 2021 to 2023, Asheim served as leader of Baerum Conservatives.
Ola Svenneby, 28, is from Valer in Hedmark but has lived in Oslo since starting upper secondary school. He now lives in Grunerlokka. He has studied social economics at the University of Oslo. He has been open about having ADHD and about being gay. He is in a relationship with Mathias Opdal Weseth. Svenneby served as deputy leader of Young Conservatives from 2018 and became leader in 2020. He ran as a parliamentary candidate for Oslo in this year’s election, but the Conservatives did not secure enough votes. He will serve as first alternate member of parliament in the coming term.
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SOURCES
Hoyre (The Conservative Party)
Nomination from the Conservatives’ election committee
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