Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005
Encyclopedia
Parliamentary elections were held in Norway
on 12 September 2005. More than 3.4 million Norwegians were eligible for vote for the Storting, the parliament of Norway
. The new Storting has 169 members, an increase of four over the 2001 election
.
The election was won by the opposition centre-left Red-Green Coalition
, which took 87 seats, dominated by the Labour Party
's 61 seats. The three-party centre-right government coalition won 44 seats and the populist Progress Party
won 38, becoming the largest opposition party. Voter turnout was 77.1 %, an increase of 2 percentage points compared to the 2001 elections.
Kjell Magne Bondevik
led a coalition government
consisting of the Conservative Party
(38 seats in parliament), Christian People's Party (22 seats and supplied the prime minister) and the Liberals
(2 seats), with the conditional support of the right-wing Progress Party
. Between them, the three main parties of the coalition held 62 seats in the outgoing 165-seat Storting. The Progress Party held an additional 26, giving the four parties a majority
when acting together.
Divisions within the coalition led to the temporary withdrawal of support by the Progress Party in November 2004, in response to what they saw as the government's underfunding of hospital
s; an agreement was later reached. The government also attracted criticism for its handling of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
, in which several Norwegians died, with the prime minister admitting to mistakes in his government's delayed reaction to the disaster.
The question of private school
s was controversial in 2005, with the opposition Labour Party
, Socialist Left Party
and Centre Party
rejecting the government's plan to allow schools other than those offering an "alternative education", or those founded on religious beliefs
, to become private.
Amidst a decline in the personal popularity of the prime minister, opinion poll
s in early 2005 indicated a clear lead for the Labour Party. Its leader, Jens Stoltenberg
, was prime minister from March 2000 to October 2001, and enjoyed widespread public support in the run-up to the election. Polling suggests that the Labour, Socialist Left and Centre parties could form a red–green coalition
, which would command a majority in the Storting. Labour and Socialist Left have pledged to maintain their allegiance with the Centre party even if the latter were not necessary to obtain a majority.
In June the leader of the Progress Party, Carl I. Hagen
, said his party would not support a new coalition if Bondevik re-emerges as the prime minister after the election, implicitly pointing at Erna Solberg
, leader of the conservative party as a better candidate.
A week before the elections, the Socialist Left Party
experienced a fall in popularity on recent polls. The Liberals
and Conservative Party
gained popularity on the polls. As of September 11, 2005, the day before the election, the opinion polls indicated a dead run between the red-green coalition and the right wing.
Advance voting was possible from August 10 to September 9, 2005. 452,488 votes were cast in advance, a decrease of approx 52,000 since the 2001 election. http://www.dagbladet.no/weblogg/politikk/?show=blogg&id=13002000000157
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
on 12 September 2005. More than 3.4 million Norwegians were eligible for vote for the Storting, the parliament of Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
. The new Storting has 169 members, an increase of four over the 2001 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001
A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on September 10, 2001. The Labour Party won a plurality of votes and seats, closely followed by the Conservative Party...
.
The election was won by the opposition centre-left Red-Green Coalition
Red-Green Coalition (Norway)
The Red-Green Coalition is a centre-left coalition of Norwegian parties, formed by the Labour , the Socialist Left Party , and the Centre Party. Unlike many other Red-Green coalitions, the "Green" here is the colour of a centrist party rather than an actual Green party...
, which took 87 seats, dominated by the Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
's 61 seats. The three-party centre-right government coalition won 44 seats and the populist Progress Party
Progress Party (Norway)
The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
won 38, becoming the largest opposition party. Voter turnout was 77.1 %, an increase of 2 percentage points compared to the 2001 elections.
Electoral Campaign
Before the election, Prime MinisterPrime Minister of Norway
The Prime Minister of Norway is the political leader of Norway and the Head of His Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Stortinget , to their political party, and ultimately the...
Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician . He served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway's longest serving non-Labour Party Prime Minister since World War II...
led a coalition government
Coalition government
A coalition government is a cabinet of a parliamentary government in which several political parties cooperate. The usual reason given for this arrangement is that no party on its own can achieve a majority in the parliament...
consisting of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
(38 seats in parliament), Christian People's Party (22 seats and supplied the prime minister) and the Liberals
Venstre (Norway)
The Liberal Party is a centrist liberal political party in Norway. The party is the oldest in the country, and has enacted reforms such as parliamentarism, freedom of religion, universal suffrage and free education. Since 2010, the leader of the party is Trine Skei Grande...
(2 seats), with the conditional support of the right-wing Progress Party
Progress Party (Norway)
The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
. Between them, the three main parties of the coalition held 62 seats in the outgoing 165-seat Storting. The Progress Party held an additional 26, giving the four parties a majority
Majority
A majority is a subset of a group consisting of more than half of its members. This can be compared to a plurality, which is a subset larger than any other subset; i.e. a plurality is not necessarily a majority as the largest subset may consist of less than half the group's population...
when acting together.
Divisions within the coalition led to the temporary withdrawal of support by the Progress Party in November 2004, in response to what they saw as the government's underfunding of hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s; an agreement was later reached. The government also attracted criticism for its handling of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake
The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake was an undersea megathrust earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC on Sunday, December 26, 2004, with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The quake itself is known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake...
, in which several Norwegians died, with the prime minister admitting to mistakes in his government's delayed reaction to the disaster.
The question of private school
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...
s was controversial in 2005, with the opposition Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
, Socialist Left Party
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
and Centre Party
Centre Party (Norway)
The Centre Party is a centrist and agrarian political party in Norway, founded in 1920. The Centre Party's policy is not based on any of the major ideologies of the 19th and 20th century, but has a focus on maintaining decentralised economic development and political decision-making.From its...
rejecting the government's plan to allow schools other than those offering an "alternative education", or those founded on religious beliefs
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, to become private.
Amidst a decline in the personal popularity of the prime minister, opinion poll
Opinion poll
An opinion poll, sometimes simply referred to as a poll is a survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence...
s in early 2005 indicated a clear lead for the Labour Party. Its leader, Jens Stoltenberg
Jens Stoltenberg
is a Norwegian politician, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and the current Prime Minister of Norway. Having assumed office on 17 October 2005, Stoltenberg previously served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001....
, was prime minister from March 2000 to October 2001, and enjoyed widespread public support in the run-up to the election. Polling suggests that the Labour, Socialist Left and Centre parties could form a red–green coalition
Red-Green Coalition (Norway)
The Red-Green Coalition is a centre-left coalition of Norwegian parties, formed by the Labour , the Socialist Left Party , and the Centre Party. Unlike many other Red-Green coalitions, the "Green" here is the colour of a centrist party rather than an actual Green party...
, which would command a majority in the Storting. Labour and Socialist Left have pledged to maintain their allegiance with the Centre party even if the latter were not necessary to obtain a majority.
In June the leader of the Progress Party, Carl I. Hagen
Carl I. Hagen
Carl Ivar Hagen is a Norwegian politician and former Vice President of the Norwegian Parliament. He was the chairman of the Progress Party from 1978 until 2006, when Siv Jensen replaced him as chairman of the party...
, said his party would not support a new coalition if Bondevik re-emerges as the prime minister after the election, implicitly pointing at Erna Solberg
Erna Solberg
Erna Solberg is a Norwegian politician, and current leader of the Conservative Party of Norway. She was the Municipal and Regional Minister in Kjell Magne Bondevik's second government, 19 October 2001 until 17 October 2005. In 2005, she was appointed a Commander of the Order of St. Olav.-Early...
, leader of the conservative party as a better candidate.
A week before the elections, the Socialist Left Party
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
experienced a fall in popularity on recent polls. The Liberals
Venstre (Norway)
The Liberal Party is a centrist liberal political party in Norway. The party is the oldest in the country, and has enacted reforms such as parliamentarism, freedom of religion, universal suffrage and free education. Since 2010, the leader of the party is Trine Skei Grande...
and Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
gained popularity on the polls. As of September 11, 2005, the day before the election, the opinion polls indicated a dead run between the red-green coalition and the right wing.
Advance voting was possible from August 10 to September 9, 2005. 452,488 votes were cast in advance, a decrease of approx 52,000 since the 2001 election. http://www.dagbladet.no/weblogg/politikk/?show=blogg&id=13002000000157
Results
Winners
- The red-green coalition was the winner of the election and formed a majority government, with Jens StoltenbergJens Stoltenbergis a Norwegian politician, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and the current Prime Minister of Norway. Having assumed office on 17 October 2005, Stoltenberg previously served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001....
as prime minister, on October 17, 2005, as soon as a national budget for 2006 had been proposed by the old government. - The Labour PartyNorwegian Labour PartyThe Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
obtained a result that brought it back into the position of "the largest Norwegian party, not just the largest of many middle-sized ones". - The Progress PartyProgress Party (Norway)The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
obtained its best result ever, surpassing the Conservatives by a large margin and becoming almost as large as the parties in the BondevikKjell Magne BondevikKjell Magne Bondevik is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician . He served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway's longest serving non-Labour Party Prime Minister since World War II...
government together. - The Liberal PartyVenstre (Norway)The Liberal Party is a centrist liberal political party in Norway. The party is the oldest in the country, and has enacted reforms such as parliamentarism, freedom of religion, universal suffrage and free education. Since 2010, the leader of the party is Trine Skei Grande...
gained a substantial amount of seats in its most successful election since 1965. The large number of additional seats won with only a modest gain in votes came partly as a result of passing the threshold of 4% of the votes required for a party to be allocated leveling seatLeveling seatLeveling seats are a mechanism employed in Norwegian elections to the national legislature, the Storting, and in Swedish elections to national and regional assemblies, to ensure proportional representation both by county and political party...
s to bring their representation into proportion to the overall national vote (as opposed to direct regional mandates allocated on the basis of number of votes in the specific region). Venstre got six direct regional mandates and four allocated additional mandates.
Losers
- Non-socialist parties suffered a defeat well beyond its numbers, with almost half of its votes for the Progress party, which had been able to offer only external support to the Bondevik government; the other parties shunned any possible formal inclusion in the government coalition over differing views in several issues.
- The Socialist Left PartySocialist Left Party (Norway)The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
obtained only a disappointing result, after polls that showed the party well beyond 15% at times during the electoral campaign. - The Conservative PartyConservative Party of NorwayThe Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
lost a large share of votes and are no longer the largest non-Socialist party, surpassed by the Progress Party. - The Christian Democratic Party almost halved its votes, and suffered one of the worst defeats ever.
- The Coastal PartyCoastal PartyThe Coastal Party is a Norwegian conservative and centrist political party. The party has district, fishing and coastal issues among its primary policies and is a staunch opponent of Norwegian EU membership. It was represented in the Norwegian Parliament from 2001 to 2005, and its predecessor, the...
lost its only representative in the parliament. - The Red Electoral AllianceRed Electoral AllianceRed Electoral Alliance was an alliance of left-wing groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary far-left ideals into the Norwegian parliament...
did not manage to obtain a seat in the parliament.