No matter what Middle East peace plan Donald Trump puts forward, Norwegian experts believe the American president stands no chance of winning the Nobel Peace Prize, due to be awarded on Friday, October 10. That has not stopped the billionaire from campaigning in hopes of securing the honor granted to his longtime rival, Barack Obama, in 2009. On September 23, before the United Nations General Assembly, Trump boasted that he had saved "millions of lives" by ending "seven un-endable wars." On September 30, in front of American generals and admirals gathered near Washington, he took a more menacing tone: Not choosing him, he insisted, would be "an insult" to the United States.

In Oslo, the Nobel Committee tasked with awarding the prize has not allowed itself to be intimidated. "Of course, we do notice that there is a lot of media attention towards particular candidates," said Kristian Berg Harpviken, the committee's secretary. He has pointed out that lobbying is nothing new: "Several campaigns are underway this year, some more sophisticated than others and therefore harder to detect, with people coming to Oslo to give lectures, visiting the Nobel Institute or trying to meet with committee members in hopes of promoting a candidate."

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