In my thread about Norway's latest election, the question about European political diversity vs American political dualism came up, so I thought I'd make a post where Americans could see the diversity of Norwegian politics and the advantages of it.
I will present every party currently in our Parliament, from farthest left to farthest right, and tell you a little about them.
I will first give the best translation of party name, then the Norwegian name and then the literal translation, and then where they are considered to be in the political landscape, like this :
Party Name (Norwegian Name / Literal Translation) Center
Also, all Norwegian parties have a youth organization, and if they differ from their mother-parties, I will tell a bit about them as well, as they are in many ways important, being the main recruitment and training ground for the parties.
The Socialist Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti / Socialist Left Party) Far Left
Founded by ex-Labor politicians who left the party because they disagreed with the foreign policy, especially regarding NATO and USA. Once a revolutionary party, after the cold war ended it has slowly moved towards center, and can in many ways now be regarded as socialdemocratic, in that they aren't revolutionary anymore but want to turn the country socialistic through reforms.
Their youth organization, Socialist Youth, is quite a bit further to the left than the main party, and still call themselves revolutionary.
Being socialists, they favor strong welfare policies funded through taxation on both private and commercial income, especially rich people and 'big business'.
The party is anti-USA, anti-NATO, anti-EU and anti-Israel.
Labor (Arbeiderpartiet / Labor Party) Left
Modern social democratic party, comparable to UK's Labour. Labor has been in power through most of post-WW2 Norway, and they're responsible for building the welfare state that is Norway today. The party also has close ties to, and is funded heavily by, Norway's largest labor union, that organizes almost all the workers in the country. Although they have lost power the last decades, it's still Norway's largest party.
Their youth organization, Labor Youth Foundation, is much farther left than their mother party, and is anti-EU.
Labor is pro-USA and pro-NATO, and is also responsible to our good ties with both after WW2. Traditionally, they've also been pro-Israel, but the relationship has cooled the last years. They're also the biggest pro-EU party.
The Center Party (Senterpartiet / Center Party) Left leaning center
Formerly the Farmer Party, the Center Party is a party without an ideological platform, and their main issues are farmer rights, rural politics, decentralization and agricultural protectionism.
The Center Party is the biggest anti-EU party.
The Liberal Party (Venstre / Left) Center
Norway's oldest party calls itself social liberal, which means liberal with heavy emphasis on welfare systems. They're also environmentalists. However, they differ from the socialists on believeing in the liberal market economy.
The party was long undecided on the EU-matter, but are now anti-EU, but will let each parliament member vote individually if the matter is ever brought forward in the parliament.
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti / Christian People's Party) Right leaning center
A Christian values party, placed in the political center of Norwegian politics, their main issues are anti-alcohol legislation, pro-life, fight agains domestic and abroad poverty and keeping Christian values in school. They're also for the seperation of church and state, because they dislike parliament dictating state church policy.
Note that they're the only pro-life party, and is not fighting activly for it as they know it's a lost cause.
They're anti-EU and pro-Israel.
The Conservative Party (Høyre / Right) Right
Norway's second oldest party, and although it calls itself conservative, I don't think many Americans would recognize it as such, since it has moved slightly towards center and has a major liberal wing. Their main issues are less taxation on private and commercial income and privatization to compete with governmental welfare institutions and education. Their main 'non-conservative' issues are pro-gay marriage and gay-adoptions rights.
Their youth organization, Young Conservatives (Young Right), is far more liberal than their mother party.
The party is one of two pro-EU parties, together with Labor.
The Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet / The Progress Party) Outer Space
Another party without ideological foundation, the Progress Party is in some areas socialists (for subsidizing industry, for heavy welfare systems), other areas liberal (less taxes and the liberalization of the alcohol policies) and conservative in some (anti-gay rights, Christian values). It is at times hard to say where the party stands on different issues, because they keep changing to fit popular opinions. They're also somewhat nationalistic, and is anti-immigration and very sceptical towards Islam.
They're also known to have 'cleaning' actions within the party, throwing out those that don't agree with the party leadership.
Their youth organization, Progress Party Youth, is a liberal organization.
So there you have it, a wide and diverse group of parties, where it's easier to find your own politics than within a de facto two-party system.
The best example of difference I can find, is that you can vote on Christian values without overflowing the Conservative Party with religious nutcases
If you have questions about specific issues, I'd be happy to explain further.
I will present every party currently in our Parliament, from farthest left to farthest right, and tell you a little about them.
I will first give the best translation of party name, then the Norwegian name and then the literal translation, and then where they are considered to be in the political landscape, like this :
Party Name (Norwegian Name / Literal Translation) Center
Also, all Norwegian parties have a youth organization, and if they differ from their mother-parties, I will tell a bit about them as well, as they are in many ways important, being the main recruitment and training ground for the parties.
The Socialist Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti / Socialist Left Party) Far Left
Founded by ex-Labor politicians who left the party because they disagreed with the foreign policy, especially regarding NATO and USA. Once a revolutionary party, after the cold war ended it has slowly moved towards center, and can in many ways now be regarded as socialdemocratic, in that they aren't revolutionary anymore but want to turn the country socialistic through reforms.
Their youth organization, Socialist Youth, is quite a bit further to the left than the main party, and still call themselves revolutionary.
Being socialists, they favor strong welfare policies funded through taxation on both private and commercial income, especially rich people and 'big business'.
The party is anti-USA, anti-NATO, anti-EU and anti-Israel.
Labor (Arbeiderpartiet / Labor Party) Left
Modern social democratic party, comparable to UK's Labour. Labor has been in power through most of post-WW2 Norway, and they're responsible for building the welfare state that is Norway today. The party also has close ties to, and is funded heavily by, Norway's largest labor union, that organizes almost all the workers in the country. Although they have lost power the last decades, it's still Norway's largest party.
Their youth organization, Labor Youth Foundation, is much farther left than their mother party, and is anti-EU.
Labor is pro-USA and pro-NATO, and is also responsible to our good ties with both after WW2. Traditionally, they've also been pro-Israel, but the relationship has cooled the last years. They're also the biggest pro-EU party.
The Center Party (Senterpartiet / Center Party) Left leaning center
Formerly the Farmer Party, the Center Party is a party without an ideological platform, and their main issues are farmer rights, rural politics, decentralization and agricultural protectionism.
The Center Party is the biggest anti-EU party.
The Liberal Party (Venstre / Left) Center
Norway's oldest party calls itself social liberal, which means liberal with heavy emphasis on welfare systems. They're also environmentalists. However, they differ from the socialists on believeing in the liberal market economy.
The party was long undecided on the EU-matter, but are now anti-EU, but will let each parliament member vote individually if the matter is ever brought forward in the parliament.
Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti / Christian People's Party) Right leaning center
A Christian values party, placed in the political center of Norwegian politics, their main issues are anti-alcohol legislation, pro-life, fight agains domestic and abroad poverty and keeping Christian values in school. They're also for the seperation of church and state, because they dislike parliament dictating state church policy.
Note that they're the only pro-life party, and is not fighting activly for it as they know it's a lost cause.
They're anti-EU and pro-Israel.
The Conservative Party (Høyre / Right) Right
Norway's second oldest party, and although it calls itself conservative, I don't think many Americans would recognize it as such, since it has moved slightly towards center and has a major liberal wing. Their main issues are less taxation on private and commercial income and privatization to compete with governmental welfare institutions and education. Their main 'non-conservative' issues are pro-gay marriage and gay-adoptions rights.
Their youth organization, Young Conservatives (Young Right), is far more liberal than their mother party.
The party is one of two pro-EU parties, together with Labor.
The Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet / The Progress Party) Outer Space
Another party without ideological foundation, the Progress Party is in some areas socialists (for subsidizing industry, for heavy welfare systems), other areas liberal (less taxes and the liberalization of the alcohol policies) and conservative in some (anti-gay rights, Christian values). It is at times hard to say where the party stands on different issues, because they keep changing to fit popular opinions. They're also somewhat nationalistic, and is anti-immigration and very sceptical towards Islam.
They're also known to have 'cleaning' actions within the party, throwing out those that don't agree with the party leadership.
Their youth organization, Progress Party Youth, is a liberal organization.
So there you have it, a wide and diverse group of parties, where it's easier to find your own politics than within a de facto two-party system.
The best example of difference I can find, is that you can vote on Christian values without overflowing the Conservative Party with religious nutcases
If you have questions about specific issues, I'd be happy to explain further.
