Vedum to be replaced? Centre Party suffers the biggest defeat in the history of Norwegian agrarians

Emil Bogumił

17.09.2025 12:01

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Vedum to be replaced? Centre Party suffers the biggest defeat in the history of Norwegian agrarians

The Centre Party leader is no longer popular among Norwegian agrarians. Fot. Ragne B. Lysaker, Senterpartiet (Flickr.com, CC BY-ND 2.0)

Internal criticism within the Centre Party (Senterpartiet) towards leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum is intensifying after a poor election result. According to a survey conducted by NorgesBarometeret for VG, more than half of the party's municipal council representatives believe Vedum should step down as party leader. Emilie Enger Mehl has been named as a potential successor. The party achieved its worst result in history, winning only eight seats in the Storting.

The NorgesBarometeret survey was sent to 8,167 municipal council representatives in Norway. A total of 1,688 people responded, including 226 from the Centre Party. 54 percent of respondents from the party supported Vedum's resignation. 28 percent were against, and 17 percent had no opinion (votes corresponding to one percent were not taken into account). The survey highlights internal dissatisfaction within the party after the recent elections.

Record low representation in the Storting

The Centre Party has never had such a small representation in parliament since its founding in 1920 as Bondepartiet. The party won eight seats in the Storting. Vedum admitted in an interview with NRK that the result was too low. He announced a thorough evaluation within the party. He believes that leaving the government in February was the right decision, supported by differences in key principles guiding the Centre Party and the Labour Party.

Trygve Slagsvold Vedum was Minister of Finance and one of the coalition leaders. He ended cooperation with the Labour Party after a conflict over the implementation of EU energy regulations.Photo: Centre Party press materials, Flickr.com (CC BY-ND 2.0)

Electoral defeat for Norwegian agrarians

Compared to the 2021 elections, when the party won 28 seats in the Storting, in 2025 the party lost 20 seats. Centre Party politicians are proposing that Emilie Enger Mehl, who did not win re-election, become the new leader. She is a former Minister of Justice and Public Security and currently serves as the party's financial spokesperson. Local politicians participating in the NorgesBarometeret survey have indicated her as Vedum's successor.

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Vedum emphasized his motivation to continue as leader despite the difficulties. He stated that working in the party is a team effort, both in successes and failures. He did not specify whether he would remain leader until the next elections in 2029. He rejected media suggestions that the party was thrown out of government by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

The party now plans to assess its strategy to strengthen its position ahead of future challenges. According to Norwegian media, a special commission will be appointed to identify the causes of the defeat.