Norwegian Communist Party leader Rødt (red), Bjørnar Moxnes, He resigned from his position after being caught stealing sunglasses last June.

The incident occurred in a sunglasses store at Oslo Airport. Moxnes was on his way to a wedding with his girlfriend when he walked out of the store with sunglasses in his pocket.

Initially, Moxnes stated in an interview that he took the sunglasses by mistake and after he was approached by a security guard, he was going to immediately apologize. He later admitted that he had previously noticed the sunglasses were still in his pocket and then panicked and ripped them off.

The next day, at a press conference, he apologized and said he had now told the story from beginning to end. But he had to come back from that. That same evening, a Norwegian broadcaster reported that Moxnes would not have immediately given up his sunglasses when the bouncer told him to do so.

Camera footage that emerged earlier this month shows a party leader trying on sunglasses and then placing them in his luggage cart. Eventually the glasses disappear into his jacket’s zip pocket.

Police believe Moxnes acted deliberately. He was fined 3,000 kronor, about 268 euros.

The incident caused tongues to loosen on social media, and the press also wrote extensively about it. Many thought the foreman should resign, but others said the criticism had gone too far. Many of Rødt’s supporters changed their profile picture to one of Moxnes to express their support for him.

Moxnes has been on sick leave since Monday 3 July. That was supposed to end tomorrow, but Deputy Leader Marie Sniff Martinussen announced this morning that she will take over as party leader.

Moxnes has been the leader of Rødt’s party since 2012 and became their first parliamentary representative in 2017. In the 2021 elections, the party received 4.7 percent of the total vote, good for eight seats.