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Socialist Left Party (Norway)
Encyclopedia
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. In 2005 the party became a governing party for the first time, participating in the Red-Green Coalition with the Labour
and the Centre Party
; before that, it was frequently turned down by the Labour Party.
The party was founded in 1973 as the Socialist Electoral League, an electoral coalition with the Communist Party
, Socialist People's Party
, Democratic Socialists – AIK
and independent socialists. In 1975 the coalition was turned into an electoral party. The party was largely founded as a result of the foreign policies prevalent at the time, with the socialists being opposed to Norwegian membership in the European Union
(then known as the European Economic Community
) and NATO. While currently having the official ideology of Democratic socialism
, the party has increasingly profiled itself as supporting pro-feminism
and environmental policy
, and called for a stronger public sector
, more government involvement in the economy
and a strengthening of the social welfare net. Since 1987 the moderate faction of the party has held the leading positions.
As of 2008 the party has over 9,500 members; the number has steadily decreased since the party entered the governing coalition. The current leader of the Socialist Left is Kristin Halvorsen
, who has been the party's candidate for Prime Minister of Norway
since the 2001 parliamentary election
.
and the Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community
, the Socialist Left is a left-wing party which favours a welfare state
and taxation of the wealthy. Finn Gustavsen
, former leader of the Socialist People's Party, believed that the Labour Party
were not socialists, and the only socialist force in parliament were members from the Socialist Electoral League. He was one of the main opponents of Norwegian membership in the European Community, saying the organisation showed how "evil and stupid" capitalism
really was. According to a 2002 poll, one out of four members in the Socialist Left wanted Norway to join the European Union.
The party's election program for the 2001 parliamentary election
stated that the party was a "socialist party" with a vision of a Norway without social injustice. Since its inception, the party has promoted itself as socialist. In later years, the party has been portrayed as social democratic
by the Norwegian left and right-wing media, and as democratic socialists. The party has been categorised as an eco-socialist party by media abroad. The present deputy leader
, Audun Lysbakken
, is a self-proclaimed revolutionary
, socialist, and Marxist. He believes the party to be a democratic socialist one.
was elected Minister of Education and Research
, and held that position for two years. He was replaced by fellow Socialist Left politician Bård Vegar Solhjell
. Kristin Halvorsen
took over the ministry in late 2009. Djupedal's first assignment in office was granting to "even out social differences" between ethnic minorities. The party believes that everyone has the right to free access to kindergarten
. Anders Folkestad, leader of the Confederation of Unions for Professionals
, was not pleased with Djupedal's efforts during his term in office, saying; "Djupedal has created much uncertainty and a mess after he became Minister of Education and Research. Many had great expectations, but he is sure lagging behind from the time when he was a sideliner". Djupedal was heavily criticised by the Norwegian media for his controversial and bizarre statements. In late 2005, it was estimated that students studying general, business, and administrative studies would save up to under the Red-Green Coalition; school books became free when the coalition took power.
The party wants to reduce the number of private school
s; Djupedal claims they are of no use. In a later interview, Solhjell said he believed government-funded schools helped "smoothing social inequality". He further stated, "Many of those who remain outside the labor market have received lack of training from school. It prevents them from contributing to the community. Parties on the right often confuse social security
and welfare schemes as the problem; however we tend to look at why they are struggling. There are systematic connections between social background and lack of training – it is a class question where something is needed to be done." Others believe that the party should nationalise non-public schools. Torbjørn Urfjell
, former leader of the Socialist Youth
chapter in Vest-Agder
, said "School and adolescence is too important to be left to the market. Therefore, they should be taken back". During the 2005 election
, the party promised to increase resources to public schools, believing that more money would lead to fewer pupils per teacher, and thus more individualised and personal instructions.
has held the office of Minister of the Environment
, taking over from fellow Socialist Left member Helen Bjørnøy
. During the 2009 parliamentary election
, the party promoted itself as the "biggest" and "strongest" green party in Norway. The party was highly vocal against oil drilling in Lofoten and Vesterålen during the election campaign. A large minority within the party are opposed to the conservation plan, with the majority of them coming from Nordland
, the county where the drilling is taking place. The party struggled, despite the public's strong focus on the green movement
and global warming
. They failed to gather new voters and instead experienced one of their worst elections in years. By August 2009, varuous opinion polls gave the party 10% support, but they lost most of their voters to the Labour Party during the last days of the election.
The party's strong emphasise on green politics
and its failure to capture new voters has led to debate among electoral researchers. Frank Aarbot commented, "It is interesting that both the Socialist Left and the Liberals has this bad turnout, when the environmental conference is taking place in Copenhagen". Halvorsen felt the environmental policies of the second Soria Moria declaration showed a clear level of commitment from the party's coalition partners. She called the environmental policies of the government one of the "most radical in Europe".
. In January 2005 Klassekampen
asked 150 of the 169 representatives in parliament if they considered themselves feminist. According to the survey, the Socialist Left and the Liberal Party were the two most feminist, while The Progress Party
was the least feminist party in parliament.
Audun Lysbakken
was elected the new Minister of Children and Equality
in 2009, with his term expiring in 2013. Arild Stokkan-Grande
claimed equality amongst men and women has been a major issue in government mainly because of the activities of the Socialist Left. He claimed that there were more women then men serving in the departments the party controlled.
of the Progress Party
accused the party of supporting free immigration to Norway, after Lisbeth Holand
proposed that immigrants from non-European countries should have the same immigration opportunities as immigrants who have their origins from countries who are members of the European Economic Area
. While Hagen was highly critical, she felt that the policy would offer housing and jobs for non-Europeans who needed them. An opinion poll showed that 82.9% of the Socialist Left members were open to more immigration, making the party the most immigration-friendly party in parliament, but still less than the non-parliamentary Red Electoral Alliance
. In a measurement done in late 2009, the Socialist Left became again the party least hostile to immigrants, this time behind the newly-established party Red
.
Another poll showed that almost one-third of Socialist Left voters would not want to live in an area with a high number of immigrants. Social geographer Karl Fredrik Tangen responded that it is easy for the typical intellectual Socialist Left voter, living in upper class
areas, to agree to what was for them hypothetical question. Recent surveys show that support for the party by immigrants plummeted from 25% in 2005 to 6% in 2009. Norwegian-Somali
writer Amal Aden
explained that "we do not earn anything from the policies of the Socialist Left. They say that everyone is okay, and that does not work".
The party is open to more immigration, believing Norway will evolve into a more multicultural society
. The party believes the only way to create social equality
is to create ethnic equality in Norway. By 2009, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg
said his government would tighten the then prevailing immigration policy, which would make it harder for immigrants to be granted asylum in Norway. The Socialist Left, along with the Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats, felt the new policy was too strict.
was a controversial issue within the party; the party leadership supported the military interventionism saying the ethnic cleansing
in Kosovo had to be stopped. Supporters included Kristin Halvorsen, who favored NATO's air strikes, but a large group within the party vehemently opposed such support, arguing that violence would only lead to more violence. The party's chapter in Akershus
called the attack a "NATO-led terrorist bombing" and believed the bombing marked the first time that Norway had declared war on another nation. They wanted the United Nations
to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. Stein Ørnhøi
, leader of the Socialist People's Party
, said the party's representatives in parliament acted preposterously; he felt they made the wrong decision in supporting NATO's actions in Kosovo when the majority of the party was against it. During the national convention
, Halvorsen threatened to resign as party leader unless the factional fighting within the party stopped. This led to a split within the party, with the first group supporting her resignation and the larger second faction concluding that the NATO bombing was to be immediately terminated if the Serbs stopped the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, if Halvorsen continued as party leader.
In most foreign policy issues the party has opposed military action. They were against the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and were very much against the War in Iraq. After joining the Red-Green Coalition in 2005, the party stopped their strong opposition to the two wars, and in 2008 the party proposed creating a "new strategy" for the Norwegian armed forces located in Afghanistan. In 2007, Erik Solheim from the Ministry of International Development visited Norwegian troops in Afghanistan. The policy regarding Afghanistan has led to much unrest within the party, most notably with the party's chapter in Bergen
. By early 2008, the party chapters of Hordaland
and Rogaland
criticised Kristin Halvorsen and the government regarding their Afghanistan policies, and demanded an immediate withdrawal by October 2009. The Oslo chapter asked for drastic changes in the military strategy created by NATO.
Thorbjørn Jagland
, then President of the Storting, requested the government should send more soldiers to Afghanistan, if NATO requested it. The Socialist Left supported the war, but was against sending more soldiers to the region, and denied access for the Norwegian Special Forces. Their main reason was that Norway, along with the Netherlands
, "clearly had the most soldiers located in Afghanistan [...]" in relation to population in the respective countries, and Afghanistan was "the largest military commitment Norway currently has abroad".
, Municipal and Local Chapters, and the Party Representatives. The national convention works as a democratic body for the party, where members representing their county or municipal can elect new national representatives for the party. One example of this is the party leader
, who stands for election every second year.
The Country Board is the party's highest decision-making body between the national conventions. The Board consists of 19 members. Members are elected by each county, plus six members are directly elected during the national convention; some of these are permanent members. In total there are 36 members. The board meets approximately six times a year to deal with current political and organisational issues. Its task is to adopt the party's budget and to select the party's permanent political representatives. The Central Committee manages the party in the interim period between Country Board meetings. Members of the committee are elected by the national convention. the Committee consists of the party leader
, the two deputy leader
s, the party secretary
, the parliamentary leader
, the leader of the Socialist Youth
, and five other members. The board holds a meeting almost every Monday. The Municipal and Local Chapters organ works as "communication" body between the chapters and the national party.
The last body, the Party's Representative organ, consists of nine national party offices. These offices serves as advisory bodies for the party. The officeholders work alongside the party's parliamentary group, the government apparatus, and the rest of the party organisation on their specialised offices. They also have contact with organisations and communities in their local area. The Party's Representatives normally meet four to six times a year; the group consists of party members from all over the nation who have any special expertise. Party's Representatives are elected by the national convention.
; the post is held by Silje Schei Tveitdal
.
After losing all its parliamentary seats in the 1969 parliamentary election
, the Socialist People's Party
sought to create an election coalition between various left-wing parties. While previously being sceptical of working with the Communist Party of Norway
, the party eventually became a member of the coalition, along with the Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community
and various non-party-aligned independent socialists. Reidar T. Larsen
, leader of the Communist Party, said the members at the party's national convention
unanimously agreed to join the coalition, which would later go by the name of the Socialist Electoral League.
It took 16 days to negotiate a settlement between the groups. Members agreed that this coalition would be the only way to get a "socialist government" in Norway. By 1973, the Labour Party had suffered a decrease in popular support, which at that time was estimated to around 100,000 voters. Speculation arose that voters had left the Labour Party for the newly-created Socialist Electoral League. Early Labour Party predictions were that the Electoral League would dissolve because of internal strife. Reiulf Steen
later stated that he had more "respect" for the Maoist Red Electoral Alliance
party than the Electoral League. The coalition gained 11.2% of the popular vote and 16 seats in parliament in the 1973 parliamentary election
.
The party now known as the Socialist Left was founded in 1975. The Communist Party did not want to dissolve to become a member of the Socialist Left Party, and voted against membership. This led to an internal struggle within the party, with the party's official newspaper, Friheten
, strongly suggesting the party could not dissolve, because that would mean the death of the revolutionary movement. The official newspaper of the Socialist People's Party, Orientering
, attacked what they called the "hard-core" leaders of the Communist Party. Without the Communist Party, the other parties voted to dissolve the coalition and to replace it with a political party.
's leadership during the 1980s, the party's popularity rose again. Internal conflicts within the party escalated; there were rumours that then sitting deputy leader
Steinar Stjernø
was trying to throw out the social democratic wing of the party. A more serious problem for the party was that two of the party's MPs
had been convicted of betrayal of the country
in the aftermath of World War II
, the most notable being Hanna Kvanmo
. Later, Kvanmo became one of the leading and most-liked politicians in Norway. Under the leadership of Theo Koritzinsky
later in the 1980s, the party became prominent in their efforts for peace, disarmament, the removal of unemployment, green politics
, and economic equality.
At the beginning of the 1990s under Erik Solheim
, party popularity again declined. They lost most of their "no to EU" voters to the Centre Party
, when the party fought actively against Norwegian membership in the European Union
, and when Norwegians again voted against membership
in a referendum. Solheim's tenure as leader—while praised by some—was seen as very controversial. The socialist wing of the party, the "Museum Guardians" as they were called, were worried that Solheim was moving the party too much to the centre
. Outside critics of Solheim said his policies had led to a "grey-blue social democratic" party with little or no differences from the Labour Party. Solheim tried to get the party to change direction and form a coalition government with the Labour and the Centre Party. Solheim was forced to resign in 1997
, with the party seeing him as the main reason for the new power struggle between the left- and right-wing factions of the party.
. The Labour Party earned a record-low turnout, with only 24.3% of the vote. The turnout only worsened the inner struggle within the party, with party leader Thorbjørn Jagland
and Jens Stoltenberg
accusing each other. The right-wing faction of the party wanted to continue to move the party further to the centre, while the left-wing faction wanted to move the party closer to the Socialist Left. By early 2005, polls showed that over 20% of Norwegian voters would vote for the Socialist Left.
Prime Minister
Kjell Magne Bondevik
from the Christian Democratic Party believed the three parties were "unclear" and "vague" when talking about the Red-Green Coalition idealogical and political position. After discussing the national budget
with the Socialist Left and the Centre Party, Jens Stoltenberg agreed with Halvorsen that they needed to create a universal free day care
service. By February 2005, an opinion poll gave the coalition 96 of 169 seats in parliament, with the Socialist Left increasing with 3.9%. Later in February, a small faction within the party called the future coalition the Red-Grey Coalition, believing the environmental policies of the Labour and the Centre Party were not "radical enough".
Before the 2005 parliamentary election
, Deputy Leader Øystein Djupedal
said that the Socialist Left would not contribute to any radical changes if they earned a position within the government. Erna Solberg
, leader of the Conservative Party
, accused the party of being "communist", because some of its present and earlier connections to communist organisations around Europe. By early August, the Socialist Left was the party having the most progress in the opinion polls, but 17% of the people who voted for the Socialist Left previously were unsure what party they would vote for in the 2005 election. By late August the party was labelled one of the "big losers" in the election, along with the Conservative Party. Many election researchers believed that the Socialist Left had lost voter's interest when they entered the coalition and worked alongside the Labour Party. The bad election results led to internal struggles within the party, with Djupedal claiming it to be the party's hardest election in their history. The party had 5 of 19 ministers in the government, one more than the Centre Party.
, the party lost four seats and was left with 11, but a three-seat gain by the Labour Party secured the Red-Green Coalition an 86–83 majority. The shift of power within the coalition resulted in the loss of one Socialist Left cabinet minister, leaving them with four, the same as the Centre Party. The Socialist Left and Halvorsen conceded the influential Ministry of Finance to the Labour Party in order to keep control of the Ministry of Education and Research. Halvorsen announced her resignation following the 2011 local elections
. The new leader will be chosen on an extraordinary party congress in 2012. So far, Audun Lysbakken
, Heikki Holmås
and Bård Vegar Solhjell
have announced their candidature for the leader position.
In the Norwegian parliamentary election
s, the Socialist Left Party holds the position as the fourth-largest party in Norway, behind the right wing Progress Party
, Conservative Party
, and the centre-left
Labour Party
. Their popularity initially declined from levels achieved by the Socialist Electoral League. Their seat count rose to its peak after the 2001 parliamentary election
; this election also marked the Socialist Left's largest voter count, with 12.5% of the national vote.
When the Socialist Electoral League was founded in the early 1970s, the party won voters from the Labour Party, which ruled as a majority government
. Early speculation said that the Labour Party had lost 100,000 votes to the Electoral League. The Socialist Left Party gained 16 seats in Parliament. After the unification process was finished, the party's voter base collapsed and they earned only 4.2% of the national vote in the 1977 parliamentary election
, and earned only two seats in parliament. After the election, the party won new voters, and in the 1989 parliamentary election
, it gathered 10.1% of the national vote. After the election, the party lost voters again, and after the 1997 election
, the party mustered 9 representatives in parliament.
After having what many described as a bad election in 2001
, the Norwegian Labour Party
lost many of its voters to the Socialist Left, with the Socialist Left increasing from 6% to 12.5% of the national vote, again becoming the fourth largest party in the country. However, this growth did not last long. In the 2005 election
the party gathered 8.8% of the vote; this further decreased in the 2009 election
, when the party gathered 6.2% of the vote.
The 1975 county and municipality election
was met with a sharp decrease in voters, with the party earning a disappointing voter turnout of 5.5% in the municipal election and 5.7% in the county election. In an opinion poll done before election day in 1975, it was estimated that half of the voters who voted for the Socialist Electoral League would not vote for the party again. The decrease in voters was due the Labour Party's election surge during the 1973 parliamentary election
. The party further decreased in popular support by the 1979 local election
, earning 4.1% in the municipal and 4.4% in the county respectively.
By the 1983 local election
the party increased by 1% in the municipal and 0.9% in the county election. According to an opinion poll done in early September, the Labour Party would lose four of its Oslo representatives in parliament to the Progress Party
, Conservative Party
, and the Socialist Left. If the 1983 local election had been a parliamentary election, the Socialist Left would have received 8 seats in parliament. The party earned 5.5% and 5.7% in the county and municipal elections in 1987
respectively. The party's strongest county was Nordland
, where the party gained 21.9% of the popular vote.
The 1991 election
marked a large increase in voters for the party, earning 11.6 in the municipalities and 12.2% in the counties, making the party the third-largest party in Norway. The Socialist Left, along with the Centre Party
, was named the election's "big winners" by the Norwegian press. In the following election
, the party gathered 5.9% in the municipalities and 6.1% in counties. Before the election in 1991
, polls showed an increase in popular support for the Socialist Left in Oslo
. The reason for the increase was that the party was again able to win votes from the Labour Party. The party gained 7.8% of the votes in the municipalities and 8.5% in the counties.
By 2003, the party's voter based had increased dramatically over the 1999 local elections. The party had what many described as a "record election", winning most of its voters from the Labour Party. The 2007 elections
went badly for the party; their voter base was reduced by half from the local elections of 2003. In the 2011 local elections, the party fared even worse, getting only slightly above 4 % of all votes on a nation-wide basis. After this, leader Kristin Halvorsen announced her resignation on the election night.
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...
left-wing political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. 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
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...
, and has been so ever since. In 2005 the party became a governing party for the first time, participating in the Red-Green Coalition with the Labour
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....
and the 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...
; before that, it was frequently turned down by the Labour Party.
The party was founded in 1973 as the Socialist Electoral League, an electoral coalition with the Communist Party
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...
, Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Norway)
Socialist People's Party was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party . SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/European Economic Community external policies of DNA. A group centered around the magazine Orientering had been expelled from DNA...
, Democratic Socialists – AIK
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community was an internal organized opposition within the Norwegian Labour Party. AIK was founded in January 1972, ahead of the plebiscite on joining the European Economic Community...
and independent socialists. In 1975 the coalition was turned into an electoral party. The party was largely founded as a result of the foreign policies prevalent at the time, with the socialists being opposed to Norwegian membership in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
(then known as the European Economic Community
European Economic Community
The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...
) and NATO. While currently having the official ideology of Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism
Democratic socialism is a description used by various socialist movements and organizations to emphasize the democratic character of their political orientation...
, the party has increasingly profiled itself as supporting pro-feminism
Pro-feminism
Pro-feminism refers to support of the cause of feminism without implying that the supporter is a member of the feminist movement. The term is most often used in reference to men who are actively supportive of feminism and of efforts to bring about gender equality...
and environmental policy
Environmental policy
Environmental policy is any [course of] action deliberately taken [or not taken] to manage human activities with a view to prevent, reduce, or mitigate harmful effects on nature and natural resources, and ensuring that man-made changes to the environment do not have harmful effects on...
, and called for a stronger public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
, more government involvement in the economy
Mixed economy
Mixed economy is an economic system in which both the state and private sector direct the economy, reflecting characteristics of both market economies and planned economies. Most mixed economies can be described as market economies with strong regulatory oversight, in addition to having a variety...
and a strengthening of the social welfare net. Since 1987 the moderate faction of the party has held the leading positions.
As of 2008 the party has over 9,500 members; the number has steadily decreased since the party entered the governing coalition. The current leader of the Socialist Left is Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen is a Norwegian socialist politician and was the Minister of Finance from 17 October 2005 until 20 October 2009. She is now the Minister of Education in Stoltenberg's second cabinet....
, who has been the party's candidate for Prime Minister of Norway
Prime 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...
since the 2001 parliamentary 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...
.
Position
Like its predecessors, the Socialist People's PartySocialist People's Party (Norway)
Socialist People's Party was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party . SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/European Economic Community external policies of DNA. A group centered around the magazine Orientering had been expelled from DNA...
and the Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community was an internal organized opposition within the Norwegian Labour Party. AIK was founded in January 1972, ahead of the plebiscite on joining the European Economic Community...
, the Socialist Left is a left-wing party which favours a welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
and taxation of the wealthy. Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen was a Norwegian socialist politician active from 1945 to the late 1970s. He was noted for his uncompromising style and willingness to take contrarian stands....
, former leader of the Socialist People's Party, believed that 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....
were not socialists, and the only socialist force in parliament were members from the Socialist Electoral League. He was one of the main opponents of Norwegian membership in the European Community, saying the organisation showed how "evil and stupid" capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
really was. According to a 2002 poll, one out of four members in the Socialist Left wanted Norway to join the European Union.
The party's election program for the 2001 parliamentary 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...
stated that the party was a "socialist party" with a vision of a Norway without social injustice. Since its inception, the party has promoted itself as socialist. In later years, the party has been portrayed as social democratic
Social democracy
Social democracy is a political ideology of the center-left on the political spectrum. Social democracy is officially a form of evolutionary reformist socialism. It supports class collaboration as the course to achieve socialism...
by the Norwegian left and right-wing media, and as democratic socialists. The party has been categorised as an eco-socialist party by media abroad. The present deputy leader
Deputy Leader
A deputy leader in the Westminster system is the second-in-command of a political party, behind the party leader. Deputy leaders often become deputy prime minister when their parties are elected to government. In opposition, deputy leaders often lead Question Time sessions when the party leader is...
, Audun Lysbakken
Audun Lysbakken
Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. In 2006 he became deputy leader of the party. On 20 October 2009, he was appointed Minister of Children and Equality.- Background :...
, is a self-proclaimed revolutionary
Revolutionary
A revolutionary is a person who either actively participates in, or advocates revolution. Also, when used as an adjective, the term revolutionary refers to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor.-Definition:...
, socialist, and Marxist. He believes the party to be a democratic socialist one.
Education
Education has been one of main campaign issues since Kristin Halvorsen became party leader. Øystein DjupedalØystein Djupedal
Øystein Kåre Djupedal, born 5 May 1960 in Oslo, Norway, is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party and a member of Storting for Sør-Trøndelag County where he has sat since the 1993 election. For two years from 17 October 2005 until 18 October 2007 he was the Minister of Education and...
was elected Minister of Education and Research
Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research
Royal Norwegian Ministry of Education and Research is a Norwegian responsible for education, research and kindergartens. The ministry was established in 1814, and since October 18, 2007 led by Tora Aasland and Kristin Halvorsen in 2009. The department reports to the legislature...
, and held that position for two years. He was replaced by fellow Socialist Left politician Bård Vegar Solhjell
Bård Vegar Solhjell
Bård Vegar Solhjell is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party, was Minister of Education and Research from 2007-2009 in the second cabinet Stoltenberg....
. Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen is a Norwegian socialist politician and was the Minister of Finance from 17 October 2005 until 20 October 2009. She is now the Minister of Education in Stoltenberg's second cabinet....
took over the ministry in late 2009. Djupedal's first assignment in office was granting to "even out social differences" between ethnic minorities. The party believes that everyone has the right to free access to kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
. Anders Folkestad, leader of the Confederation of Unions for Professionals
Confederation of Unions for Professionals, Norway
The Confederation of Unions for Professionals, Norway is a national trade union center in Norway. It was formed in 2001 and has a membership of 255,000 in nine affiliated unions.Unio claims to be politically neutral....
, was not pleased with Djupedal's efforts during his term in office, saying; "Djupedal has created much uncertainty and a mess after he became Minister of Education and Research. Many had great expectations, but he is sure lagging behind from the time when he was a sideliner". Djupedal was heavily criticised by the Norwegian media for his controversial and bizarre statements. In late 2005, it was estimated that students studying general, business, and administrative studies would save up to under the Red-Green Coalition; school books became free when the coalition took power.
The party wants to reduce the number 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; Djupedal claims they are of no use. In a later interview, Solhjell said he believed government-funded schools helped "smoothing social inequality". He further stated, "Many of those who remain outside the labor market have received lack of training from school. It prevents them from contributing to the community. Parties on the right often confuse social security
Social security
Social security is primarily a social insurance program providing social protection or protection against socially recognized conditions, including poverty, old age, disability, unemployment and others. Social security may refer to:...
and welfare schemes as the problem; however we tend to look at why they are struggling. There are systematic connections between social background and lack of training – it is a class question where something is needed to be done." Others believe that the party should nationalise non-public schools. Torbjørn Urfjell
Torbjørn Urfjell
Torbjørn Urfjell is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party.From 2005 to 2007, during the second cabinet Stoltenberg, Urfjell was appointed political advisor in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs....
, former leader of the Socialist Youth
Socialist Youth (Norway)
Socialist Youth is the youth league of the Socialist Left Party of Norway.The current head of the organisation is Olav Magnus Linge. SU considers itself a revolutionary party and wants to gain popular support for socialism in Norway. In this respect it differs from SV, the mother party.SU...
chapter in Vest-Agder
Vest-Agder
In the 16th century, Dutch merchant vessels began to visit ports in southern Norway to purchase salmon and other goods. Soon thereafter the export of timber began, as oak from southern Norway was exceptionally well suited for shipbuilding...
, said "School and adolescence is too important to be left to the market. Therefore, they should be taken back". During the 2005 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005
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 party promised to increase resources to public schools, believing that more money would lead to fewer pupils per teacher, and thus more individualised and personal instructions.
The environment
Since 2007 Erik SolheimErik Solheim
Erik Solheim is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party . He holds two posts in the current Norwegian cabinet, and carries the title Minister of the Environment and Minister of Development Cooperation...
has held the office of Minister of the Environment
Minister of the Environment (Norway)
The Norwegian Minister of the Environment is the head of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of the Environment. The Ministry was established in 1972....
, taking over from fellow Socialist Left member Helen Bjørnøy
Helen Bjørnøy
Helen Oddveig Bjørnøy is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician . From October 2005 to October 2007, she was Minister of the Environment in the Red-Green Coalition cabinet headed by Jens Stoltenberg...
. During the 2009 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2009
The 2009 parliamentary election was held in Norway on 14 September 2009. Elections in Norway are held on a Monday in September, usually the second or third Monday, as determined by the king. Early voting was possible between 10 August and 11 September 2009, while some municipalities held open...
, the party promoted itself as the "biggest" and "strongest" green party in Norway. The party was highly vocal against oil drilling in Lofoten and Vesterålen during the election campaign. A large minority within the party are opposed to the conservation plan, with the majority of them coming from Nordland
Nordland
is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
, the county where the drilling is taking place. The party struggled, despite the public's strong focus on the green movement
Green Movement
The Green Movement refers to a series of actions after the 2009 Iranian presidential election, in which protesters demanded the removal of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from office...
and global warming
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
. They failed to gather new voters and instead experienced one of their worst elections in years. By August 2009, varuous opinion polls gave the party 10% support, but they lost most of their voters to the Labour Party during the last days of the election.
The party's strong emphasise on green politics
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
and its failure to capture new voters has led to debate among electoral researchers. Frank Aarbot commented, "It is interesting that both the Socialist Left and the Liberals has this bad turnout, when the environmental conference is taking place in Copenhagen". Halvorsen felt the environmental policies of the second Soria Moria declaration showed a clear level of commitment from the party's coalition partners. She called the environmental policies of the government one of the "most radical in Europe".
Feminism
In later years, the party has promoted itself as a feminist party. In one of the Socialist Left's brochures published in 2005, it said "The Socialist Left is a feminist party. We are fighting for a society where women and men have equal opportunities. This means that women should earn as much as men, that there must be more women in the top positions and that there are welfare schemes that provide equality in the workplace". During the 2005 parliamentary election, one of the four main issues raised by party's youth wing was fighting against sexual harassmentSexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
. In January 2005 Klassekampen
Klassekampen
Klassekampen is a Norwegian daily newspaper, which styles itself as "the daily left-wing newspaper".Klassekampen was founded in 1969 with a Marxist-Leninist-Maoist platform. Until recently, it was owned by The Workers' Communist Party...
asked 150 of the 169 representatives in parliament if they considered themselves feminist. According to the survey, the Socialist Left and the Liberal Party were the two most feminist, while The 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...
was the least feminist party in parliament.
Audun Lysbakken
Audun Lysbakken
Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. In 2006 he became deputy leader of the party. On 20 October 2009, he was appointed Minister of Children and Equality.- Background :...
was elected the new Minister of Children and Equality
Minister of Children and Equality (Norway)
The Norwegian Minister of Children and Equality is the head of the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Children and Equality. Before 2006 the title was Minister of Children and Family Affairs and before 1990 Minister of Children and Consumer Affairs....
in 2009, with his term expiring in 2013. Arild Stokkan-Grande
Arild Stokkan-Grande
Arild Stokkan-Grande is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party . He represents Nord-Trøndelag in the Norwegian Parliament, where he meets in the place of Bjarne Håkon Hanssen, who was appointed to a government position....
claimed equality amongst men and women has been a major issue in government mainly because of the activities of the Socialist Left. He claimed that there were more women then men serving in the departments the party controlled.
Immigration
In 1992 Carl I. HagenCarl 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...
of the 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...
accused the party of supporting free immigration to Norway, after Lisbeth Holand
Lisbeth Holand
Lisbeth Holand is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party.She was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Nordland in 1989, and was re-elected on one occasion...
proposed that immigrants from non-European countries should have the same immigration opportunities as immigrants who have their origins from countries who are members of the European Economic Area
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...
. While Hagen was highly critical, she felt that the policy would offer housing and jobs for non-Europeans who needed them. An opinion poll showed that 82.9% of the Socialist Left members were open to more immigration, making the party the most immigration-friendly party in parliament, but still less than the non-parliamentary Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance
Red 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...
. In a measurement done in late 2009, the Socialist Left became again the party least hostile to immigrants, this time behind the newly-established party Red
Red (Norway)
The Red Party is a Norwegian far-left political party and the leading party to the left of the Socialist Left and the Labour Party in Norway. Since 2007 the party has sought a seat in Parliament; the only counties in which they have a realistic chance of earning a seat are Oslo and Hordaland...
.
Another poll showed that almost one-third of Socialist Left voters would not want to live in an area with a high number of immigrants. Social geographer Karl Fredrik Tangen responded that it is easy for the typical intellectual Socialist Left voter, living in upper class
Upper class
In social science, the "upper class" is the group of people at the top of a social hierarchy. Members of an upper class may have great power over the allocation of resources and governmental policy in their area.- Historical meaning :...
areas, to agree to what was for them hypothetical question. Recent surveys show that support for the party by immigrants plummeted from 25% in 2005 to 6% in 2009. Norwegian-Somali
Somali people
Somalis are an ethnic group located in the Horn of Africa, also known as the Somali Peninsula. The overwhelming majority of Somalis speak the Somali language, which is part of the Cushitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family...
writer Amal Aden
Amal Aden
Amal Aden is the pseudonym of a Somali-Norwegian writer. She has been noted in Norway because of her strong criticism of the Norwegian integration and immigration policy, and is the author of several books regarding issues related to this....
explained that "we do not earn anything from the policies of the Socialist Left. They say that everyone is okay, and that does not work".
The party is open to more immigration, believing Norway will evolve into a more multicultural society
Multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the appreciation, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures, applied to the demographic make-up of a specific place, usually at the organizational level, e.g...
. The party believes the only way to create social equality
Social equality
Social equality is a social state of affairs in which all people within a specific society or isolated group have the same status in a certain respect. At the very least, social equality includes equal rights under the law, such as security, voting rights, freedom of speech and assembly, and the...
is to create ethnic equality in Norway. By 2009, Prime Minister 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....
said his government would tighten the then prevailing immigration policy, which would make it harder for immigrants to be granted asylum in Norway. The Socialist Left, along with the Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats, felt the new policy was too strict.
International affairs
The military action in KosovoKosovo War
The term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
was a controversial issue within the party; the party leadership supported the military interventionism saying the ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
in Kosovo had to be stopped. Supporters included Kristin Halvorsen, who favored NATO's air strikes, but a large group within the party vehemently opposed such support, arguing that violence would only lead to more violence. The party's chapter in Akershus
Akershus
- Geography :The county is conventionally divided into the traditional districts Follo and Romerike, which fill the vast part of the county, as well as the small exclave west of Oslo that consists of Asker and Bærum...
called the attack a "NATO-led terrorist bombing" and believed the bombing marked the first time that Norway had declared war on another nation. They wanted the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
to find a peaceful solution to the conflict. Stein Ørnhøi
Stein Ørnhøi
Stein Ørnhøi is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party, he was the last party leader of the Socialist People's Party of Norway....
, leader of the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Norway)
Socialist People's Party was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party . SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/European Economic Community external policies of DNA. A group centered around the magazine Orientering had been expelled from DNA...
, said the party's representatives in parliament acted preposterously; he felt they made the wrong decision in supporting NATO's actions in Kosovo when the majority of the party was against it. During the national convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, Halvorsen threatened to resign as party leader unless the factional fighting within the party stopped. This led to a split within the party, with the first group supporting her resignation and the larger second faction concluding that the NATO bombing was to be immediately terminated if the Serbs stopped the ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, if Halvorsen continued as party leader.
In most foreign policy issues the party has opposed military action. They were against the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and were very much against the War in Iraq. After joining the Red-Green Coalition in 2005, the party stopped their strong opposition to the two wars, and in 2008 the party proposed creating a "new strategy" for the Norwegian armed forces located in Afghanistan. In 2007, Erik Solheim from the Ministry of International Development visited Norwegian troops in Afghanistan. The policy regarding Afghanistan has led to much unrest within the party, most notably with the party's chapter in Bergen
Bergen
Bergen is the second largest city in Norway with a population of as of , . Bergen is the administrative centre of Hordaland county. Greater Bergen or Bergen Metropolitan Area as defined by Statistics Norway, has a population of as of , ....
. By early 2008, the party chapters of Hordaland
Hordaland
is a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark and Rogaland. Hordaland is the third largest county after Akershus and Oslo by population. The county administration is located in Bergen...
and Rogaland
Rogaland
is a county in Western Norway, bordering Hordaland, Telemark, Aust-Agder and Vest-Agder. It is the center of the Norwegian petroleum industry, and as a result of this, Rogaland has the lowest unemployment rate of any county in Norway, 1.1%...
criticised Kristin Halvorsen and the government regarding their Afghanistan policies, and demanded an immediate withdrawal by October 2009. The Oslo chapter asked for drastic changes in the military strategy created by NATO.
Thorbjørn Jagland
Thorbjørn Jagland
is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party, currently serving as the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe...
, then President of the Storting, requested the government should send more soldiers to Afghanistan, if NATO requested it. The Socialist Left supported the war, but was against sending more soldiers to the region, and denied access for the Norwegian Special Forces. Their main reason was that Norway, along with the Netherlands
Netherlands
The Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
, "clearly had the most soldiers located in Afghanistan [...]" in relation to population in the respective countries, and Afghanistan was "the largest military commitment Norway currently has abroad".
Organs
The party is split into five organs: the first national convention, which held every second year, the Country Board, the Central CommitteeCentral Committee
Central Committee was the common designation of a standing administrative body of communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, whether ruling or non-ruling in the twentieth century and of the surviving, mostly Trotskyist, states in the early twenty first. In such party organizations the...
, Municipal and Local Chapters, and the Party Representatives. The national convention works as a democratic body for the party, where members representing their county or municipal can elect new national representatives for the party. One example of this is the party leader
Party leader
In politics, the party leader is the most powerful official within a political party.The party leader is typically responsible for managing the party's relationship with the general public. As such, he or she will take a leading role in developing and communicating party policy, especially election...
, who stands for election every second year.
The Country Board is the party's highest decision-making body between the national conventions. The Board consists of 19 members. Members are elected by each county, plus six members are directly elected during the national convention; some of these are permanent members. In total there are 36 members. The board meets approximately six times a year to deal with current political and organisational issues. Its task is to adopt the party's budget and to select the party's permanent political representatives. The Central Committee manages the party in the interim period between Country Board meetings. Members of the committee are elected by the national convention. the Committee consists of the party leader
Party leader
In politics, the party leader is the most powerful official within a political party.The party leader is typically responsible for managing the party's relationship with the general public. As such, he or she will take a leading role in developing and communicating party policy, especially election...
, the two deputy leader
Deputy Leader
A deputy leader in the Westminster system is the second-in-command of a political party, behind the party leader. Deputy leaders often become deputy prime minister when their parties are elected to government. In opposition, deputy leaders often lead Question Time sessions when the party leader is...
s, the party secretary
Party secretary
In politics, a party secretary is a senior official within a political party with responsibility for the organizational and daily political work. In most parties, the party secretary is second in rank to the party leader ....
, the parliamentary leader
Parliamentary leader
A parliamentary leader is political title given in various countries to lead a caucus in a legislative body, whether it be the countries respective parliaments or provincial legislature...
, the leader of the Socialist Youth
Socialist Youth (Norway)
Socialist Youth is the youth league of the Socialist Left Party of Norway.The current head of the organisation is Olav Magnus Linge. SU considers itself a revolutionary party and wants to gain popular support for socialism in Norway. In this respect it differs from SV, the mother party.SU...
, and five other members. The board holds a meeting almost every Monday. The Municipal and Local Chapters organ works as "communication" body between the chapters and the national party.
The last body, the Party's Representative organ, consists of nine national party offices. These offices serves as advisory bodies for the party. The officeholders work alongside the party's parliamentary group, the government apparatus, and the rest of the party organisation on their specialised offices. They also have contact with organisations and communities in their local area. The Party's Representatives normally meet four to six times a year; the group consists of party members from all over the nation who have any special expertise. Party's Representatives are elected by the national convention.
Offices
In total, there are twelve offices, all of which are located in the party's headquarters at Akersgate 35, Oslo. These offices are in turn the administrative organs of the party. The most important office of the Socialist Left is the party secretaryParty secretary
In politics, a party secretary is a senior official within a political party with responsibility for the organizational and daily political work. In most parties, the party secretary is second in rank to the party leader ....
; the post is held by Silje Schei Tveitdal
Silje Schei Tveitdal
Silje Schei Tveitdal is a Norwegian environmentalist and politician for the Socialist Left Party.She was the leader of Natur og Ungdom in 1997 and 1998. Before being leader she had been deputy leader since 1994...
.
Formation (1973–1975)
| Leaders | Term |
|---|---|
| Berit Ås Berit Ås Berit Ås is a Norwegian politician, professor of social psychology, and feminist. She was the first leader of the Socialist Left Party and served as a Member of Parliament 1973–1977. She was also a deputy member of parliament 1969–1973 and 1977–1981... |
1975–1976 |
| Berge Furre Berge Furre Berge Ragnar Furre is a Norwegian historian, theologian and politician for the Socialist Left Party.-Early life and career:... |
1976–1983 |
| Theo Koritzinsky Theo Koritzinsky Theodor "Theo" Koritzinsky is a Norwegian academic and politician for the Socialist Left Party.He was chairman of the Socialist Youth League from 1965 to 1966. He later joined the Socialist Left Party, and was their chairman from 1983 to 1987... |
1983–1987 |
| Erik Solheim Erik Solheim Erik Solheim is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party . He holds two posts in the current Norwegian cabinet, and carries the title Minister of the Environment and Minister of Development Cooperation... |
1987–1997 |
| Kristin Halvorsen Kristin Halvorsen Kristin Halvorsen is a Norwegian socialist politician and was the Minister of Finance from 17 October 2005 until 20 October 2009. She is now the Minister of Education in Stoltenberg's second cabinet.... |
1997–present |
After losing all its parliamentary seats in the 1969 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1969
The 1969 election proved to be one of the closest ones in Norwegian history. The only leftist party to win seats, the Labour Party, got 74 seats, while the right-wing parties got 76 seats. When counting the results, people started worrying that the two sides would be evenly split with 75 seats...
, the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Norway)
Socialist People's Party was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party . SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/European Economic Community external policies of DNA. A group centered around the magazine Orientering had been expelled from DNA...
sought to create an election coalition between various left-wing parties. While previously being sceptical of working with the Communist Party of Norway
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...
, the party eventually became a member of the coalition, along with the Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community was an internal organized opposition within the Norwegian Labour Party. AIK was founded in January 1972, ahead of the plebiscite on joining the European Economic Community...
and various non-party-aligned independent socialists. Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen is a Norwegian politician. He was chairman of the Communist Party of Norway from 1965 to 1975, when he resigned from his position, left the party and joined the Socialist Left Party . He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1973 to 1977, representing Hedmark.-References:...
, leader of the Communist Party, said the members at the party's national convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
unanimously agreed to join the coalition, which would later go by the name of the Socialist Electoral League.
It took 16 days to negotiate a settlement between the groups. Members agreed that this coalition would be the only way to get a "socialist government" in Norway. By 1973, the Labour Party had suffered a decrease in popular support, which at that time was estimated to around 100,000 voters. Speculation arose that voters had left the Labour Party for the newly-created Socialist Electoral League. Early Labour Party predictions were that the Electoral League would dissolve because of internal strife. Reiulf Steen
Reiulf Steen
Reiulf Steen is a Norwegian politician for the Norwegian Labour Party. He was active in the Norwegian Labour Party from 1958 to 1990, serving as deputy party chairman from 1965 to 1975 and chairman from 1975 to 1981....
later stated that he had more "respect" for the Maoist Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance
Red 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...
party than the Electoral League. The coalition gained 11.2% of the popular vote and 16 seats in parliament in the 1973 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1973
-Results:¹A coalition of the Socialist People's Party , the Communist Party of Norway , and anti-European Economic Community individuals from the Labour Party. The coalition evolved into the Socialist Left Party in 1975....
.
The party now known as the Socialist Left was founded in 1975. The Communist Party did not want to dissolve to become a member of the Socialist Left Party, and voted against membership. This led to an internal struggle within the party, with the party's official newspaper, Friheten
Friheten
Friheten is a biweekly newspaper, published by the Norwegian Communist Party .It was founded illegally in 1941, during the German occupation of Norway due to World War II. After the liberation in 1945, it emerged as the official party newspaper....
, strongly suggesting the party could not dissolve, because that would mean the death of the revolutionary movement. The official newspaper of the Socialist People's Party, Orientering
Orientering
Orientering was a Norwegian newspaper which was initially published in December 1952 as an alternative voice. It was absorbed into Ny Tid in 1975....
, attacked what they called the "hard-core" leaders of the Communist Party. Without the Communist Party, the other parties voted to dissolve the coalition and to replace it with a political party.
Early years (1976–1997)
The first years were not successful, as the party lost many of its seats in Parliament, but under Berge FurreBerge Furre
Berge Ragnar Furre is a Norwegian historian, theologian and politician for the Socialist Left Party.-Early life and career:...
's leadership during the 1980s, the party's popularity rose again. Internal conflicts within the party escalated; there were rumours that then sitting deputy leader
Deputy Leader
A deputy leader in the Westminster system is the second-in-command of a political party, behind the party leader. Deputy leaders often become deputy prime minister when their parties are elected to government. In opposition, deputy leaders often lead Question Time sessions when the party leader is...
Steinar Stjernø
Steinar Stjernø
Steinar Stjernø is a Norwegian academic.He obtained the mag.art. degree in Public Administration and Organizational Theory from the University of Bergen in 1971. He worked as a researcher at the Norwegian State College of Local Government Administration and Social Work from 1971 to 1978, and...
was trying to throw out the social democratic wing of the party. A more serious problem for the party was that two of the party's MPs
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
had been convicted of betrayal of the country
Legal purge in Norway after World War II
When the occupation of Norway ended in May 1945, several thousand Norwegians and foreign citizens were tried and convicted for various acts that the occupying powers sanctioned...
in the aftermath of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the most notable being Hanna Kvanmo
Hanna Kvanmo
Hanna Kristine Kvanmo was a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party...
. Later, Kvanmo became one of the leading and most-liked politicians in Norway. Under the leadership of Theo Koritzinsky
Theo Koritzinsky
Theodor "Theo" Koritzinsky is a Norwegian academic and politician for the Socialist Left Party.He was chairman of the Socialist Youth League from 1965 to 1966. He later joined the Socialist Left Party, and was their chairman from 1983 to 1987...
later in the 1980s, the party became prominent in their efforts for peace, disarmament, the removal of unemployment, green politics
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
, and economic equality.
At the beginning of the 1990s under Erik Solheim
Erik Solheim
Erik Solheim is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party . He holds two posts in the current Norwegian cabinet, and carries the title Minister of the Environment and Minister of Development Cooperation...
, party popularity again declined. They lost most of their "no to EU" voters to the 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...
, when the party fought actively against Norwegian membership in the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
, and when Norwegians again voted against membership
Norwegian EU referendum, 1994
A referendum on whether Norway should join the European Union was held on 28 November 1994. After a long period of heated debate, the "No" side won with 52.2 per cent of the vote, on a turnout of 88.6 per cent...
in a referendum. Solheim's tenure as leader—while praised by some—was seen as very controversial. The socialist wing of the party, the "Museum Guardians" as they were called, were worried that Solheim was moving the party too much to the centre
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
. Outside critics of Solheim said his policies had led to a "grey-blue social democratic" party with little or no differences from the Labour Party. Solheim tried to get the party to change direction and form a coalition government with the Labour and the Centre Party. Solheim was forced to resign in 1997
1997 Socialist Left Party national convention
The 1997 national convention was held by the Socialist Left Party was held from May 3–5 at the Oslo People's House in the city of Oslo. Erik Solheim had held the party leader seat since 1987, was forced to resign after being the main reason for the escalations in the party conflict between the left...
, with the party seeing him as the main reason for the new power struggle between the left- and right-wing factions of the party.
Early leadership of Halvorsen (1997–2005)
With the election of Kristin Halvorsen as new party leader in 1997, the party's popularity rose again. Under her leadership, the main focus became education, and the slogan "children and youth first" was coined. The party steadily built up its voter base during the Labour Stoltenberg's First Cabinet, which moved the Labour Party more to centre while privatising government-held assets. This led to a historic high voter turnout for the Socialist Left; they earned 12.5% of the national vote in the 2001 electionNorwegian 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 Labour Party earned a record-low turnout, with only 24.3% of the vote. The turnout only worsened the inner struggle within the party, with party leader Thorbjørn Jagland
Thorbjørn Jagland
is a Norwegian politician for the Labour Party, currently serving as the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe...
and 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....
accusing each other. The right-wing faction of the party wanted to continue to move the party further to the centre, while the left-wing faction wanted to move the party closer to the Socialist Left. By early 2005, polls showed that over 20% of Norwegian voters would vote for the Socialist Left.
Prime Minister
Prime 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...
from the Christian Democratic Party believed the three parties were "unclear" and "vague" when talking about the Red-Green Coalition idealogical and political position. After discussing the national budget
State budget of Norway
The State budget of Norway is a budget passed by the Norwegian legislature, Storting, each year. It accumulates all income and expenses for the Government of Norway. The document defines the taxes to be collected, and what expenses will be accomplished....
with the Socialist Left and the Centre Party, Jens Stoltenberg agreed with Halvorsen that they needed to create a universal free day care
Day care
Child care or day care is care of a child during the day by a person other than the child's legal guardians, typically performed by someone outside the child's immediate family...
service. By February 2005, an opinion poll gave the coalition 96 of 169 seats in parliament, with the Socialist Left increasing with 3.9%. Later in February, a small faction within the party called the future coalition the Red-Grey Coalition, believing the environmental policies of the Labour and the Centre Party were not "radical enough".
Before the 2005 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005
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....
, Deputy Leader Øystein Djupedal
Øystein Djupedal
Øystein Kåre Djupedal, born 5 May 1960 in Oslo, Norway, is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party and a member of Storting for Sør-Trøndelag County where he has sat since the 1993 election. For two years from 17 October 2005 until 18 October 2007 he was the Minister of Education and...
said that the Socialist Left would not contribute to any radical changes if they earned a position within the government. 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
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...
, accused the party of being "communist", because some of its present and earlier connections to communist organisations around Europe. By early August, the Socialist Left was the party having the most progress in the opinion polls, but 17% of the people who voted for the Socialist Left previously were unsure what party they would vote for in the 2005 election. By late August the party was labelled one of the "big losers" in the election, along with the Conservative Party. Many election researchers believed that the Socialist Left had lost voter's interest when they entered the coalition and worked alongside the Labour Party. The bad election results led to internal struggles within the party, with Djupedal claiming it to be the party's hardest election in their history. The party had 5 of 19 ministers in the government, one more than the Centre Party.
Red-Green Coalition (2005–present)
In the 2009 parliamentary electionNorwegian parliamentary election, 2009
The 2009 parliamentary election was held in Norway on 14 September 2009. Elections in Norway are held on a Monday in September, usually the second or third Monday, as determined by the king. Early voting was possible between 10 August and 11 September 2009, while some municipalities held open...
, the party lost four seats and was left with 11, but a three-seat gain by the Labour Party secured the Red-Green Coalition an 86–83 majority. The shift of power within the coalition resulted in the loss of one Socialist Left cabinet minister, leaving them with four, the same as the Centre Party. The Socialist Left and Halvorsen conceded the influential Ministry of Finance to the Labour Party in order to keep control of the Ministry of Education and Research. Halvorsen announced her resignation following the 2011 local elections
Norwegian local elections, 2011
Nationwide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on 12 September 2011. Several municipalities also opened the polling booths on 11 September. For most polling stations this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections...
. The new leader will be chosen on an extraordinary party congress in 2012. So far, Audun Lysbakken
Audun Lysbakken
Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. In 2006 he became deputy leader of the party. On 20 October 2009, he was appointed Minister of Children and Equality.- Background :...
, Heikki Holmås
Heikki Holmås
Heikki Holmås is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party . He was elected to the Norwegian Parliament from Oslo in 2001.He was the leader of Socialist Youth from 1996 to 1999.- Parliamentary Committee duties :...
and Bård Vegar Solhjell
Bård Vegar Solhjell
Bård Vegar Solhjell is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party, was Minister of Education and Research from 2007-2009 in the second cabinet Stoltenberg....
have announced their candidature for the leader position.
Parliamentary elections
| Year | Vote % | MPs |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1973 -Results:¹A coalition of the Socialist People's Party , the Communist Party of Norway , and anti-European Economic Community individuals from the Labour Party. The coalition evolved into the Socialist Left Party in 1975.... |
11.2% | 16 |
| 1977 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1977 -Results:... |
4.2% | 2 |
| 1981 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1981 -Results:... |
4.9% | 4 |
| 1985 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1985 A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 9 September 1985.-Results:... |
5.5% | 6 |
| 1989 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1989 A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 11 September 1989.-Results:1 This list was a cooperation between the Norwegian Communist Party, Workers' Communist Party, Red Electoral Alliance and independent socialists.... |
10.1% | 17 |
| 1993 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1993 A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 13 September 1993. The Labour Party won a plurality of seats, and Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland remained in office. The Centre Party was particularly successful, gaining 21 seats.... |
7.9% | 13 |
| 1997 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1997 A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 15 September 1997. Before the election, Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland of the Labour Party, issued the 36.9 ultimatum declaring that the government would step down unless it gained 36.9% of the vote, the percentage gained... |
6.0% | 9 |
| 2001 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... |
12.5% | 23 |
| 2005 Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005 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.... |
8.8% | 15 |
| 2009 Norwegian parliamentary election, 2009 The 2009 parliamentary election was held in Norway on 14 September 2009. Elections in Norway are held on a Monday in September, usually the second or third Monday, as determined by the king. Early voting was possible between 10 August and 11 September 2009, while some municipalities held open... |
6.2% | 11 |
In the Norwegian parliamentary election
Elections in Norway
Norway elects its legislature on a national level. The parliament, the Storting , has 169 members elected for a four year term by the proportional representation in multi-seat constituencies.Norway has a multi-party system, with numerous parties in which no one party often has a chance of gaining...
s, the Socialist Left Party holds the position as the fourth-largest party in Norway, behind 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...
, 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...
, and the centre-left
Centre-left
Centre-left is a political term that describes individuals, political parties or organisations such as think tanks whose ideology lies between the centre and the left on the left-right spectrum...
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....
. Their popularity initially declined from levels achieved by the Socialist Electoral League. Their seat count rose to its peak after the 2001 parliamentary 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...
; this election also marked the Socialist Left's largest voter count, with 12.5% of the national vote.
When the Socialist Electoral League was founded in the early 1970s, the party won voters from the Labour Party, which ruled as a majority government
Majority government
A majority government is when the governing party has an absolute majority of seats in the legislature or parliament in a parliamentary system. This is as opposed to a minority government, where even the largest party wins only a plurality of seats and thus must constantly bargain for support from...
. Early speculation said that the Labour Party had lost 100,000 votes to the Electoral League. The Socialist Left Party gained 16 seats in Parliament. After the unification process was finished, the party's voter base collapsed and they earned only 4.2% of the national vote in the 1977 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1977
-Results:...
, and earned only two seats in parliament. After the election, the party won new voters, and in the 1989 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1989
A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 11 September 1989.-Results:1 This list was a cooperation between the Norwegian Communist Party, Workers' Communist Party, Red Electoral Alliance and independent socialists....
, it gathered 10.1% of the national vote. After the election, the party lost voters again, and after the 1997 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1997
A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 15 September 1997. Before the election, Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland of the Labour Party, issued the 36.9 ultimatum declaring that the government would step down unless it gained 36.9% of the vote, the percentage gained...
, the party mustered 9 representatives in parliament.
After having what many described as a bad election in 2001
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 Norwegian 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....
lost many of its voters to the Socialist Left, with the Socialist Left increasing from 6% to 12.5% of the national vote, again becoming the fourth largest party in the country. However, this growth did not last long. In the 2005 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005
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 party gathered 8.8% of the vote; this further decreased in the 2009 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 2009
The 2009 parliamentary election was held in Norway on 14 September 2009. Elections in Norway are held on a Monday in September, usually the second or third Monday, as determined by the king. Early voting was possible between 10 August and 11 September 2009, while some municipalities held open...
, when the party gathered 6.2% of the vote.
Local elections
| Year | Vote % | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 Norwegian local elections, 1975 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1975. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. This was also the first time ever county elections were held in... |
5.5% 5.7% |
Municipal County |
| 1979 Norwegian local elections, 1979 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1979. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:... |
4.1% 4,4% |
Municipal County |
| 1983 Norwegian local elections, 1983 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1983. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:... |
5.1% 5.3% |
Municipal County |
| 1987 Norwegian local elections, 1987 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1987. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:... |
5.5% 5.7% |
Municipal County |
| 1991 Norwegian local elections, 1991 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1991. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:... |
11.6% 12.2% |
Municipal County |
| 1995 Norwegian local elections, 1995 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1995. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:... |
5.9% 6.1% |
Municipal County |
| 1999 Norwegian local elections, 1999 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1999. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:... |
7.8% 8.5% |
Municipal County |
| 2003 Norwegian local elections, 2003 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on September 15, 2003. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. In addition, several municipalities held direct mayoral... |
12.4% 13% |
Municipal County |
| 2007 Norwegian local elections, 2007 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on September 10, 2007, with some areas polling on September 9 as well. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently... |
6.2% 6.5% |
Municipal County |
| 2011 Norwegian local elections, 2011 Nationwide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on 12 September 2011. Several municipalities also opened the polling booths on 11 September. For most polling stations this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections... |
4.1% 4.3% |
Municipal County |
The 1975 county and municipality election
Norwegian local elections, 1975
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1975. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. This was also the first time ever county elections were held in...
was met with a sharp decrease in voters, with the party earning a disappointing voter turnout of 5.5% in the municipal election and 5.7% in the county election. In an opinion poll done before election day in 1975, it was estimated that half of the voters who voted for the Socialist Electoral League would not vote for the party again. The decrease in voters was due the Labour Party's election surge during the 1973 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1973
-Results:¹A coalition of the Socialist People's Party , the Communist Party of Norway , and anti-European Economic Community individuals from the Labour Party. The coalition evolved into the Socialist Left Party in 1975....
. The party further decreased in popular support by the 1979 local election
Norwegian local elections, 1979
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1979. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:...
, earning 4.1% in the municipal and 4.4% in the county respectively.
By the 1983 local election
Norwegian local elections, 1983
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1983. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:...
the party increased by 1% in the municipal and 0.9% in the county election. According to an opinion poll done in early September, the Labour Party would lose four of its Oslo representatives in parliament to the 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...
, 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...
, and the Socialist Left. If the 1983 local election had been a parliamentary election, the Socialist Left would have received 8 seats in parliament. The party earned 5.5% and 5.7% in the county and municipal elections in 1987
Norwegian local elections, 1987
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1987. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:...
respectively. The party's strongest county was Nordland
Nordland
is a county in Norway in the North Norway region, bordering Troms in the north, Nord-Trøndelag in the south, Norrbottens län in Sweden to the east, Västerbottens län to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is...
, where the party gained 21.9% of the popular vote.
The 1991 election
Norwegian local elections, 1991
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1991. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:...
marked a large increase in voters for the party, earning 11.6 in the municipalities and 12.2% in the counties, making the party the third-largest party in Norway. The Socialist Left, along with the 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...
, was named the election's "big winners" by the Norwegian press. In the following election
Norwegian local elections, 1995
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1995. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:...
, the party gathered 5.9% in the municipalities and 6.1% in counties. Before the election in 1991
Norwegian local elections, 1999
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1999. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:...
, polls showed an increase in popular support for the Socialist Left in Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
. The reason for the increase was that the party was again able to win votes from the Labour Party. The party gained 7.8% of the votes in the municipalities and 8.5% in the counties.
By 2003, the party's voter based had increased dramatically over the 1999 local elections. The party had what many described as a "record election", winning most of its voters from the Labour Party. The 2007 elections
Norwegian local elections, 2007
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on September 10, 2007, with some areas polling on September 9 as well. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently...
went badly for the party; their voter base was reduced by half from the local elections of 2003. In the 2011 local elections, the party fared even worse, getting only slightly above 4 % of all votes on a nation-wide basis. After this, leader Kristin Halvorsen announced her resignation on the election night.
See also
- Politics of NorwayPolitics of NorwayPolitics in Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the King's council, the cabinet, led by the Prime Minister of Norway. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Storting, elected...
- List of party secretaries
- List of national conventions