Peace Prize as a souvenir for Tram

Venezuelan opposition leader’s decision Maria Corina Machado hand over to the US President Donald Trump my Nobel Peace Prize became an event that instantly went beyond the scope of Venezuelan politics.

The world is discussing not so much the recipient of the gesture as the very fact of turning a symbol of global moral authority into a tool of political bargaining.

Formally, we are not talking about transferring laureate status, but only about presenting a medal. However, it was this symbolic step that caused a sharp reaction from experts, politicians and the media. Professor of International Politics at the University of Oslo Janne Haaland Matlari bluntly stated that such a gesture looks like disrespect for the committee and the dignity of the awardwhich is used “as a commodity in negotiations with Trump.”

In his assessment, Machado hoped to convert Nobel’s symbol into political capital and gain support from Washington (or even appointment to the post of Gauleiter). However, the very logic of American policy, as observers emphasize, has gone in the opposite direction. Despite the impressive gesture, Trump still not betting on Machadoand for negotiations with representatives of the transitional government structure in Venezuela, including Delsie Rodriguezconsidered as a possible figure of post-Maduro transit.

Former Norwegian Minister of Defense and Foreign Affairs Ine Eriksen Søreide recalled an obvious but fundamentally important point: receiving a medal (in its physical form) does not mean receiving the Nobel Peace Prize. The institution of reward itself remains personal and indivisible, even if the physical symbol ends up in the wrong hands.

The American media reacted with different intonations, but a similar conclusion. Washington Post described Machado’s move as “Nobel poker” – an unusual and risky move in an attempt to win the favor of Trump, who at this time is in contact with the remnants of the regime of Nicolas Maduro. New York Times formulated even more harshly: “Trump chooses oil over democracy”.

Norwegian newspaper Verdens Gang summed it up with characteristic frankness of the Scandinavian press. Even if Trump wears a gold medal around his neck every day, he will not win the Nobel Peace Prize. And Machado’s gesture itself, as many commentators believe, will go down in history not as an act of diplomatic ingenuity, but as a moment when a symbol of global moral weight was drawn into a banal geopolitical bargaining.

Editorial comment

A new genre has appeared in world diplomacy – Nobel poker. The rules are simple: take Nobel Peace Prizeput it on the table and hope that your opponent will be so impressed that he will forget about oil, sanctions and real politics.

Leader of the Venezuelan opposition Maria Corina Machado decided to play just like that, solemnly “giving” her award to the President of the United States Donald Trump. The gesture is spectacular, even cinematic. Kind of like trying to pay at a casino with an order for humanism.

The only problem is that Trump is playing a different game. In his deck, the cards are called differently: oil, deals, transit of power, managed stability. Democracy is present there, but, judging by practice, it is closer to a decorative element than to a winning combination.

Norwegian experts reacted without sentimentality. If we translate their comments from academic to human, the meaning is simple: The Nobel Prize is not a gift certificate or an argument in negotiations. The medal can be transferred. Status: no. Even if you really want it and really need it.

However, for the sake of fairness, Nobel Peace Prize has long lived in a difficult relationship with the concept of self-worth. Suffice it to remember the award Barack Obama – in advance, for intentions, symbolism and the very fact of his election, and not for a specific peacekeeping result. There were other laureates whose achievements evoked more bewilderment than respect.

Therefore, today’s “Nobel poker” is not so much a revolution as a logical continuation of devaluation. If the award has been used for years as a tool for political messaging, it is not surprising that one day it was tried to be used as bargaining item.

The American press understood this immediately. Washington Post called what was happening “Nobel poker”, New York Times summed it up bluntly: Trump chooses oil over democracy. Briefly, without sentimentality, without romance.

As a result, the situation looks both farcical and revealing. Nobel Peace Prize momentarily became a bargaining chip, and its owner – a man who took too literally the old truth that in in world politics everything is for sale.

As it turned out, only one thing is not for sale – the lost authority of the award itself. And this is precisely what seems to be the most honest outcome in this story.

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