Hagen has been regarded as the first postmodern politician in Norway by Gudleiv Forr, writing for the "Norsk biografisk leksikon". His early success has been attributed to his ability to use the media in his favour by populust speeches. He also somewhat managed to moderate the profile of the party from the more vulgar tone of Anders Lange. Though he identifies himself as a classical liberal, his political practice has been described by political commentators as being populist. His ability to balance different political directions was seen by Forr as displaying "his mastering of the role of being party leader." Forr also claimed that Hagen has a talent of double communication, which has left the diverse voter group of the party with different impressions of the policies of the party, which sometimes led to internal schisms. His success has also been attributed to his leadership tactics, which included suspending and removing members of the party who deviated too much from his views.