Christian Democratic youth leader calls for removal of May Day as public holiday

The leader of Norway’s Christian Democratic Youth (KrFU) has proposed scrapping May 1 as a public holiday, arguing it has become a “partisan political event” and that abolishing it could save the state three billion kroner annually.

Ingrid Olina Hovland, head of KrFU, told Dagbladet the holiday no longer serves its original purpose as a broad workers’ movement celebration. “The time when this was a mass movement is over. Today, it’s used by the Labour Party and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) to push their political agenda,” she said, citing this year’s planned slogans on Palestinian activism and transgender rights as evidence.

Hovland proposed redirecting the estimated three billion kroner saved—equivalent to funding 3,700 additional nurses—to address staffing shortages in healthcare. She contrasted May Day with Christian holidays like Easter and Pentecost, which she argued have “built Norway’s cultural heritage” over a thousand years and remain free of political messaging.

Gaute Børstad Skjervø, leader of the Labour Party’s youth wing (AUF), condemned the proposal, calling May Day “one of our most important days to remember those who fought for the welfare state we have today.” He rejected Hovland’s claim that the holiday is purely political, describing it as both a day of struggle and a family occasion. “Having shared national holidays is a Norwegian value we should protect, not dismantle,” Skjervø said, adding that he values holidays like Pentecost for personal time with loved ones, regardless of religious significance.

Hovland maintained that the Labour Party and LO have “monopolised” May Day with agendas beyond workers’ rights, while Skjervø countered that the holiday commemorates Norway’s “most important freedom struggle”—the fight for fair labour conditions, home ownership, and protection from exploitation.