Union Party (Norway)
Encyclopedia
Coalition Party was a short lived, Norwegian
political party
based around the Conservative Party
and the Moderate Liberal Party
. The main issues was opposition against the Liberal Party's union political
radicalism, as well as the rising social democracy
. Central people in the Coalition Party included Christian Michelsen
, Wollert Konow
and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
.
The Coalition Party went to the polls in the 1903 election
based on promises of negotiations with Sweden
concerning Norwegian rights to consulates. The negotiation optimism was great, and the Coalition Party and the Conservatives won 63 seats in the Norwegian Parliament, against the Liberals' 49. On 22 October 1903 the second cabinet Hagerup
was formed, led by Francis Hagerup
from Samlingspartiet. In March 1905 this was replaced by a broad coalition government under Christian Michelsen, where also the Liberal Party took part. This government carried through the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905.
After the independence of Norway, there were attempts to consolidate a union of all non-socialist parties. But after the union issue had been solved, the internal unity disintegrated, and disputes that had been suppressed, blossomed. The Liberal Party declined to be absorbed into the party. The 1906 parliamentary election
became a contest between the Liberals and Samlingspartiet. Exact figures for the election result are hard to compile, as a new election system was introduced, with single member constituencies and a plurality voting system
, where many representatives were elected as independents, and only after the election joined a parliamentary faction. Statistics Norway estimates that candidates affiliated to Samlingspartiet won 32.8 % of the votes, and the Liberal Party 49.9 %. 75 of the 123 elected MPs joining the Liberal parliamentary group. Several of these, however, had been elected as Unity Party candidates.
Michelsen's cabinet remained in office, as the Liberal parliamentary faction was not cohesive enough to challenge it, until Michelsen resigned due to ill health in October 1907. By this time, the idea of one, united, non-socialist party was abandoned by the Conservatives, as it was clear that the Liberal Party would not be joining it. The name Samlingspartiet was, however, still used by some local branches of the Conservative Party right up to the 1930s.
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...
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...
based around 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...
and the Moderate Liberal Party
Moderate Liberal Party
Moderate Liberal Party was a Norwegian political party that emerged from the conservative branch of the Liberal Party in 1888, consisting mainly of the Low Church...
. The main issues was opposition against the Liberal Party's union political
Union between Sweden and Norway
The Union between Sweden and Norway , officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, consisted of present-day Sweden and Norway between 1814 and 1905, when they were united under one monarch in a personal union....
radicalism, as well as the rising social democracy
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...
. Central people in the Coalition Party included Christian Michelsen
Christian Michelsen
Peter Christian Hersleb Kjerschow Michelsen was a Norwegian shipping magnate and statesman. He was the first Prime Minister of an independent Norway from 1905 to 1907...
, Wollert Konow
Wollert Konow (SB)
Wollert Konow was a Norwegian politician. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1910 to 1912.-Background:In 1842 his father, Wollert Konow, Ph.D., who was a Norwegian writer and politician, had purchased the historic Stend Manor in the Fana borough of Bergen, Norway where Wollert Konow was born...
and Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson
Bjørnstjerne Martinius Bjørnson was a Norwegian writer and the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature laureate. Bjørnson is considered as one of The Four Greats Norwegian writers; the others being Henrik Ibsen, Jonas Lie, and Alexander Kielland...
.
The Coalition Party went to the polls in the 1903 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1903
-Results:...
based on promises of negotiations with Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
concerning Norwegian rights to consulates. The negotiation optimism was great, and the Coalition Party and the Conservatives won 63 seats in the Norwegian Parliament, against the Liberals' 49. On 22 October 1903 the second cabinet Hagerup
Second cabinet Hagerup
The Hagerup's Second Cabinet governed Norway between 22 October 1903 and 11 March 1905. It fell as the cabinet ministers collectively resigned on 28 February and 1 March 1905, as part of the build-up for the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905. Christian Michelsen withdrew...
was formed, led by Francis Hagerup
Francis Hagerup
George Francis Hagerup was a Norwegian lawyer, diplomat and politician for the Conservative Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 14 October 1895 to 17 February 1898 and from 22 October 1903 to 11 March 1905.Francis Hagerup grew up in Trondheim...
from Samlingspartiet. In March 1905 this was replaced by a broad coalition government under Christian Michelsen, where also the Liberal Party took part. This government carried through the dissolution of the union between Norway and Sweden in 1905.
After the independence of Norway, there were attempts to consolidate a union of all non-socialist parties. But after the union issue had been solved, the internal unity disintegrated, and disputes that had been suppressed, blossomed. The Liberal Party declined to be absorbed into the party. The 1906 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1906
-Results:-References:**...
became a contest between the Liberals and Samlingspartiet. Exact figures for the election result are hard to compile, as a new election system was introduced, with single member constituencies and a plurality voting system
Plurality voting system
The plurality voting system is a single-winner voting system often used to elect executive officers or to elect members of a legislative assembly which is based on single-member constituencies...
, where many representatives were elected as independents, and only after the election joined a parliamentary faction. Statistics Norway estimates that candidates affiliated to Samlingspartiet won 32.8 % of the votes, and the Liberal Party 49.9 %. 75 of the 123 elected MPs joining the Liberal parliamentary group. Several of these, however, had been elected as Unity Party candidates.
Michelsen's cabinet remained in office, as the Liberal parliamentary faction was not cohesive enough to challenge it, until Michelsen resigned due to ill health in October 1907. By this time, the idea of one, united, non-socialist party was abandoned by the Conservatives, as it was clear that the Liberal Party would not be joining it. The name Samlingspartiet was, however, still used by some local branches of the Conservative Party right up to the 1930s.