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The Socialist Left Party ( no, Sosialistisk Venstreparti, sme, Sosialisttalaš Gurutbellodat, SV) is a
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...
political party in Norway This article lists political parties in Norway. Norway has a multi-party system with numerous political parties, in which no party can easily gain a majority of the 169 legislative seats. Parties may cooperate to form coalition governments. His ...
. Positioned on the
left-wing Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in soci ...
of the
political spectrum A political spectrum is a system to characterize and classify different political positions in relation to one another. These positions sit upon one or more geometric axes that represent independent political dimensions. The expressions politi ...
, it is opposed to
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
and the
European Economic Area The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...
membership. SV supports a strong
public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...
, stronger social welfare programs,
environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
, and
republicanism Republicanism is a political ideology centered on citizenship in a state organized as a republic. Historically, it emphasises the idea of self-rule and ranges from the rule of a representative minority or oligarchy to popular sovereignty. It ...
. As of 2018, the party has 11,385 members; the number has steadily increased since a low point in 2015. The party leader is
Audun Lysbakken Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken (born 30 September 1977) is a Norwegian politician and the current leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party (Norway), Socialist Left Party. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian par ...
, who was elected on 11 March 2012. The party was founded in 1973 as the
Socialist Electoral League The Socialist Left Party of Norway ( no, Sosialistisk Venstreparti or SV) was founded in 1975. Its history shows a long-term rise in political influence, resulting in part from its emergence from older left-wing parties, especially the Socialist ...
, an electoral coalition with the Communist Party of Norway, Socialist People's Party, Democratic Socialists – AIK, and independent
socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...
. In 1975, the coalition was turned into a unified political 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 of the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
(then known as the
European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
) and
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
. SV calls for a stronger
public sector The public sector, also called the state sector, is the part of the economy composed of both public services and public enterprises. Public sectors include the public goods and governmental services such as the military, law enforcement, infra ...
, a
mixed economy A mixed economy is variously defined as an economic system blending elements of a market economy with elements of a planned economy, markets with state interventionism, or private enterprise with public enterprise. Common to all mixed economi ...
, and a strengthening of the
social welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specifical ...
net. While advocating democratic socialism, the party also increasingly profiles itself as a supporter of
feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
and
environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seek ...
through
eco-socialism Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...
. In the
2005 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 11 and 12 September 2005. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 The result was a victory for the opposition centre-left Red-Green Coalition, which r ...
, SV became a governing party for the first time, participating in the red–green coalition with the Labour Party and the Centre Party; before that, it was frequently turned down by the Labour Party. SV was reduced to the seventh-largest party following the 2013 Norwegian parliamentary election, in its worst election on record, but bounced back in the
2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and
2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
parliamentary elections, although it remained both times at the
opposition Opposition may refer to: Arts and media * ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars * The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band * '' The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Com ...
.


Ideology


Position

Like its predecessors, the Socialist People's Party 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 (in Norwegian: ''Arbeiderbevegelsens informasjonskomité mot norsk medlemskap i EF'', abbreviated AIK) was an internal organized opposition within t ...
, the Socialist Left is a left-wing party which favours a
welfare state A welfare state is a form of government in which the state (or a well-established network of social institutions) protects and promotes the economic and social well-being of its citizens, based upon the principles of equal opportunity, equitabl ...
and taxation of the wealthy.
Finn Gustavsen Finn Gustavsen (22 April 1926 in Drammen – 20 July 2005) 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. Gustavsen was born into a mi ...
, former leader of the Socialist People's Party, believed that the Labour Party were not
socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...
, and the only socialist force in parliament were members from the
Socialist Electoral League The Socialist Left Party of Norway ( no, Sosialistisk Venstreparti or SV) was founded in 1975. Its history shows a long-term rise in political influence, resulting in part from its emergence from older left-wing parties, especially the Socialist ...
. He was one of the main opponents of Norwegian membership in the European Community, saying the organisation showed how "evil and stupid"
capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...
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 Norwegian 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 Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
by some in the Norwegian media, and as
democratic socialist Democratic socialism is a left-wing political philosophy that supports political democracy and some form of a socially owned economy, with a particular emphasis on economic democracy, workplace democracy, and workers' self-management within a ...
, and has been categorised as
eco-socialist Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism or socialist ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. Eco-socialists generally believe that the expansi ...
. The incumbent leader
Audun Lysbakken Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken (born 30 September 1977) is a Norwegian politician and the current leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party (Norway), Socialist Left Party. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian par ...
has been a self-proclaimed
revolutionary A revolutionary is a person who either participates in, or advocates a revolution. The term ''revolutionary'' can also be used as an adjective, to refer to something that has a major, sudden impact on society or on some aspect of human endeavor. ...
,
socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
, and
Marxist Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
. 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 Djupedal Øystein Kåre Djupedal (born 5 May 1960) is a Norwegian politician. Djupedal was born in Oslo, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the we ...
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. 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 term 'minority group' has different usages depending on the context. According to its common usage, a minority group can simply be understood in terms of demographic sizes within a population: i.e. a group in society with the least number o ...
. The party believes that everyone has the right to free access to
kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
. Anders Folkestad, leader of the
Confederation of Unions for Professionals The Confederation of Unions for Professionals (Unio) is a national trade union centre in Norway. The federation was formed in 2001 by unions, most of which were formerly part of the Academic and Professional Unions An academy (Attic Greek ...
, was not pleased with Djupedal's efforts during his term in office, saying that "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 or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
s, and Djupedal said they are of no use. Bård Vegar Solhjell stated he believed government-funded schools helped "smoothing social inequality", commenting: "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 Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
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 Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately-owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization usually refers to pri ...
non-public schools. Torbjørn Urfjell, former leader of the Socialist Youth chapter in
Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...
, said: "School and adolescence is too important to be left to the market. Therefore, they should be taken back." During the
2005 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 11 and 12 September 2005. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 The result was a victory for the opposition centre-left Red-Green Coalition, which r ...
, the party promised to increase resources to public schools, believing that more money would lead to fewer pupils per teacher, and more individualised and personal instructions.


Environment

The party has held the office of
Minister of the Environment An environment minister (sometimes minister of the environment or secretary of the environment) is a cabinet position charged with protecting the natural environment and promoting wildlife conservation. The areas associated with the duties of an ...
since 2005, first by
Helen Bjørnøy Helen Oddveig Bjørnøy (born 18 February 1954 in Ålesund, Norway) is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician ( Socialist Left Party), currently County Governor of Buskerud. From October 2005 to October 2007, she was Minister of the Enviro ...
, followed by
Erik Solheim Erik Solheim (born 18 January 1955) is a Norwegian diplomat and former politician. He served in the Norwegian government from 2005 to 2012 as Minister of International Development and Minister of the Environment, and as Under-Secretary-General of ...
and since 2012 by Bård Vegar Solhjell. During the 2009 Norwegian parliamentary election, the party promoted itself as the biggest and strongest
green party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...
in Norway. The party was highly vocal against
oil drilling An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may ...
in
Lofoten Lofoten () is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. There are two towns, Svolvær ...
and
Vesterålen Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of Lofoten and west of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county. Sortland is the largest town, situated near the center of the archipe ...
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 (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...
, the county where the drilling is taking place. The party struggled, despite the public's strong focus on the
green movement Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It be ...
and
global warming In common usage, climate change describes global warming—the ongoing increase in global average temperature—and its effects on Earth's climate system. Climate change in a broader sense also includes previous long-term changes to E ...
. They failed to gather new voters and experienced one of their worst elections in years. By August 2009, various opinion polls gave the party 10% support but lost most of their voters to the Labour Party during the last days of the election. The party's strong emphasis on
green politics Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It b ...
, and its failure to capture new voters, has led to debate among electoral researchers.
Frank Aarebrot Frank Henrik Aarebrot (19 January 1947 – 9 September 2017) was a Norwegian political scientist, political commentator, and professor of comparative politics. Among the most quoted and popular academics in the Norwegian press, he became bette ...
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.


Feminism

The party has promoted itself as a
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
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 harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...
. In January 2005, ''
Klassekampen ''Klassekampen'' ( en, The Class Struggle) is a Norwegian daily newspaper. It describes itself as "the newspaper of the Left." The paper's net circulation is 34,000 (2021), and it has around 111,000 daily readers on paper (160,000 on Saturdays). ...
'' asked 150 of the 169 representatives in parliament if they considered themselves feminist. According to the survey, the Socialist Left and the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
were the two most feminist, while The Progress Party was the least feminist party in parliament.
Audun Lysbakken Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken (born 30 September 1977) is a Norwegian politician and the current leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party (Norway), Socialist Left Party. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian par ...
was Minister of Children and Equality from 2009 to 2012. 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 than men serving in the departments the party controlled. SV supports the 2008 Sex Purchase Law that criminalises purchasing sex, and the party wants to ban public strip shows. The party supports the
conscription Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
to military services to also include
women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...
, which was enacted into legislation in 2015.


Immigration and diversity

In 1992, Carl I. Hagen of the Progress Party accused the party of supporting free immigration to Norway, after
Lisbeth Holand Lisbeth Holand (born 20 January 1946, in Vikna) 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. She had previously served as a deputy r ...
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 The European Economic Area (EEA) was established via the ''Agreement on the European Economic Area'', an international agreement which enables the extension of the European Union's single market to member states of the European Free Trade Ass ...
. 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 ( nb, Rød Valgallianse, nn, Raud Valallianse, RV) was an alliance of far-left groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary socialism ideals into the Norwegian parliament. The party dissolved itse ...
. 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 is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
. 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 modern societies is the social class composed of people who hold the highest social status, usually are the wealthiest members of class society, and wield the greatest political power. According to this view, the upper class is gen ...
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 Amal Aden (born 1983) is the pseudonym of a Somali–Norwegian writer. She is an author, lecturer and lesbian activist. Aden is substitute member of the Norwegian Press Complaints Commission and has been a contributor to the newspaper ''Dag og Ti ...
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 Social equality is a state of affairs in which all individuals within a specific society have equal rights, liberties, and status, possibly including civil rights, freedom of expression, autonomy, and equal access to certain public goods and ...
is to create ethnic equality in Norway. By 2009, Prime Minister
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
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 __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social ...
, felt the new policy was too strict. and the party took a formal dissent in government regarding the asylum policy. The party in particular wants more liberal regulations for asylum cases that involve children. In 2012, the party leader Audun Lysbakken strongly warned against Islamist extremists like Profetens Ummah, and vowed to fight them. The party is in favour of lifting the ban against religious headwear like
hijab In modern usage, hijab ( ar, حجاب, translit=ḥijāb, ) generally refers to headcoverings worn by Muslim women. Many Muslims believe it is obligatory for every female Muslim who has reached the age of puberty to wear a head covering. While ...
and
turban A turban (from Persian دولبند‌, ''dulband''; via Middle French ''turbant'') is a type of headwear based on cloth winding. Featuring many variations, it is worn as customary headwear by people of various cultures. Communities with promine ...
for police employees, but has been split over the issue, and a substantial minority, including the youth fraction, voted against allowing religious headwear at the party's convention in 2013.


International affairs

The military action in
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
was a controversial issue within the party; the party leadership supported the military intervention, saying the
ethnic cleansing Ethnic cleansing is the systematic forced removal of ethnic, racial, and religious groups from a given area, with the intent of making a region ethnically homogeneous. Along with direct removal, extermination, deportation or population transfer ...
in Kosovo had to be stopped. Supporters included Kristin Halvorsen, who favored
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...
'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 () is a traditional region and current electoral district in Norway, with Oslo as its main city and traditional capital. It is named after the Akershus Fortress in Oslo. From the middle ages to 1919, Akershus was a fief and main county ...
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 The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
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 The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...
, 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 In late 2001, the United States and its close allies invaded Afghanistan and toppled the Taliban government. The invasion's aims were to dismantle al-Qaeda, which had executed the September 11 attacks, and to deny it a safe base of operation ...
and were very much against the
War in Iraq This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states. Other armed conflicts involving Iraq * Wars during Mandatory Iraq ** Ikhwan raid on South Iraq 1921 * Smaller conflicts, revolutions, coups and periphery confli ...
. 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 (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...
. By early 2008, the party chapters of
Hordaland Hordaland () was a county in Norway, bordering Sogn og Fjordane, Buskerud, Telemark, and Rogaland counties. Hordaland was the third largest county, after Akershus and Oslo, by population. The county government was the Hordaland County Municipal ...
and
Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...
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 (born Thorbjørn Johansen; , 5 November 1950) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He served as the secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He served as the 32nd prime minister of Norway from ...
, then
President of the Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...
, 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 ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, "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".


Organisation and structure


Organs

The party is split into five organs: the first national convention, which held every second year, the National Board, the
Central Committee Central committee is the common designation of a standing administrative body of Communist party, communist parties, analogous to a board of directors, of both ruling and nonruling parties of former and existing socialist states. In such party org ...
, 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 In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...
, who stands for election every second year. The National 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 National Board meetings. Members of the committee are elected by the national convention. the Committee consists of the
party leader In a governmental system, a party leader acts as the official representative of their political party, either to a legislature or to the electorate. Depending on the country, the individual colloquially referred to as the "leader" of a political ...
, the two deputy leaders, the party secretary, the
parliamentary leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are the ...
, 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 A parliamentary group, parliamentary party, or parliamentary caucus is a group consisting of some members of the same political party or electoral fusion of parties in a legislative assembly such as a parliament or a city council. Parliamentar ...
, 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.


History


Formation (1973–1975)

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 Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community (in Norwegian: ''Arbeiderbevegelsens informasjonskomité mot norsk medlemskap i EF'', abbreviated AIK) was an internal organized opposition within t ...
and various non-party-aligned independent socialists. Reidar T. Larsen, leader of the Communist Party, said the members at the party's
national convention The National Convention (french: link=no, Convention nationale) was the parliament of the Kingdom of France for one day and the French First Republic for the rest of its existence during the French Revolution, following the two-year National ...
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 (16 August 1933 – 5 June 2014) was a Norwegian author, ambassador and politician with the Norwegian Labour Party. He was active in the Labour Party from 1958 to 1990, serving as deputy party chairman from 1965 to 1975 and chairma ...
later stated that he had more "respect" for the
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
Red Electoral Alliance Red Electoral Alliance ( nb, Rød Valgallianse, nn, Raud Valallianse, RV) was an alliance of far-left groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary socialism ideals into the Norwegian parliament. The party dissolved itse ...
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 ''Orientering'' was a Norway, Norwegian newspaper which was initially published in December 1952 as an alternative voice. It was absorbed into ''Ny Tid'' in 1975. There were many reasons for establishing the newspaper, but the most important was ...
'', 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 Furre'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 Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soci ...
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 World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the most notable being
Hanna Kvanmo Hanna Kristine Kvanmo (June 14, 1926 – June 23, 2005) was a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party. She served as a Member of Parliament from 1973 to 1989, representing the county of Nordland, as the first parliamentary leader of the ...
. Later, Kvanmo became one of the leading and most-liked politicians in Norway. Under the leadership of
Theo Koritzinsky Theodor Koritzinsky (born 2 November 1941) 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 ...
later in the 1980s, the party became prominent in their efforts for peace, disarmament, employment,
green politics Green politics, or ecopolitics, is a political ideology that aims to foster an ecologically sustainable society often, but not always, rooted in environmentalism, nonviolence, social justice and grassroots democracy. Wall 2010. p. 12-13. It b ...
, and economic equality. At the beginning of the 1990s under
Erik Solheim Erik Solheim (born 18 January 1955) is a Norwegian diplomat and former politician. He served in the Norwegian government from 2005 to 2012 as Minister of International Development and Minister of the Environment, and as Under-Secretary-General of ...
, 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 The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...
, 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
center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...
. 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.


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 center, 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 Norwegian parliamentary election. 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 (born Thorbjørn Johansen; , 5 November 1950) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He served as the secretary general of the Council of Europe from 2009 to 2019. He served as the 32nd prime minister of Norway from ...
and
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
accusing each other. The right-wing faction of the party wanted to continue to move the party further to the center, 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 Kjell Magne Bondevik (; born 3 September 1947) is a Norway, Norwegian Lutheranism, Lutheran Religious minister, minister and Politics of Norway, politician. As leader of the Christian Democratic Party (Norway), Christian Democratic Party, he serv ...
from the
Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
believed the three parties were "unclear" and "vague" when talking about the red–green coalition ideological and political position. After discussing the state budget of Norway with the Socialist Left and the Centre Party,
Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician who has been serving as the 13th secretary general of NATO since 2014. A member of the Norwegian Labour Party, he previously served as the 34th prime minister of Norway from 2000 to ...
agreed with Halvorsen that they needed to create a universal free
day care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...
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 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 11 and 12 September 2005. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 The result was a victory for the opposition centre-left Red-Green Coalition, which r ...
, Deputy Leader
Øystein Djupedal Øystein Kåre Djupedal (born 5 May 1960) is a Norwegian politician. Djupedal was born in Oslo, Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the we ...
said that the Socialist Left would not contribute to any radical changes if they earned a position within the government.
Erna Solberg Erna Solberg (; born 24 February 1961) is a Norwegian politician and the current Leader of the Opposition. She served as the 35th prime minister of Norway from 2013 to 2021, and has been Leader of the Conservative Party since May 2004. Solberg w ...
, leader of the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, 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 hardest election in the party history. The party had 5 of 19 ministers in the government, one more than the Centre Party.


Red–green coalition (2005–2013)

In the 2009 Norwegian parliamentary election, 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 Norwegian local elections. The new leader was to be chosen on an extraordinary party congress in 2012.
Audun Lysbakken Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken (born 30 September 1977) is a Norwegian politician and the current leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party (Norway), Socialist Left Party. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian par ...
, Heikki Holmås, and Bård Vegar Solhjell have announced their candidature for the leader position. Lysbakken was elected the party's leader on 11 March 2012. The Red Party has criticised the SV for forming a government with the Labour Party, which is regarded by many on the Norwegian Left to be neoliberal, and opening the
Barents Sea The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...
to
oil drilling An oil well is a drillhole boring in Earth that is designed to bring petroleum oil hydrocarbons to the surface. Usually some natural gas is released as associated petroleum gas along with the oil. A well that is designed to produce only gas may ...
as well as supporting the NATO-led
2011 military intervention in Libya On 19 March 2011, a multi-state NATO-led coalition began a military intervention in Libya, to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973, in response to events during the First Libyan Civil War. With ten votes in favour and five ...
.


Return to opposition (2013–present)

Under the leadership of
Audun Lysbakken Audun Bjørlo Lysbakken (born 30 September 1977) is a Norwegian politician and the current leader of the Norwegian Socialist Left Party (Norway), Socialist Left Party. His career in national politics began when he was elected to the Norwegian par ...
, the party had strong gains in its vote share in elections and membership. In the 2017 Norwegian parliamentary election, the party gained four seats but the incumbent right-wing government led by
Erna Solberg Erna Solberg (; born 24 February 1961) is a Norwegian politician and the current Leader of the Opposition. She served as the 35th prime minister of Norway from 2013 to 2021, and has been Leader of the Conservative Party since May 2004. Solberg w ...
was renowned. The 2021 Norwegian parliamentary election was a big win for the left-wing opposition in an election fought on climate change, inequality, and oil.
Jonas Gahr Støre Jonas Gahr Støre (; born 25 August 1960) is a Norwegian politician who has served as the prime minister of Norway since 2021 and has been Leader of the Labour Party since 2014. He served under Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg as Minister of For ...
's Labour Party was aiming to form a
majority government A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
with the Centre Party and the Socialist Left Party, but the latter stated they would remain in opposition, citing disagreements over climate and welfare policies, while remaining open for future negotiations and to support the government on common grounds. To the press, Lysbakken said the party was open for future negotiations, commenting that it was a good and friendly negotiation, and would be going into opposition for the time being. Centre Party leader
Trygve Slagsvold Vedum Trygve Magnus Slagsvold Vedum (born 1 December 1978) is a Norwegian politician who has served as Minister of Finance (Norway), Minister of Finance since 2021. A member of the Centre Party (Norway), Centre Party, which he has led since 2014, he has ...
said: "I think it is the responsibility of the Labour Party and the Socialist Left Party to keep a good tone and see if we can lay the groundwork for a new government." While disappointed for not forming his favoured government, Støre described the talks as friendly and respectful.


Election history


Parliamentary elections

In the parliamentary
elections in Norway Norway elects its legislature on a national level. The parliament, the Storting (or ''Stortinget'' by Norwegian grammar), has 169 members elected for a four-year term (during which it may not be dissolved) by a form of proportional representation ...
, the Socialist Left Party holds the position as the seventh-largest party in Norway, behind the Labour Party, the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, the Progress Party, the
Christian Democratic Party __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
, the Centre Party, and the
Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...
. Their popularity initially declined from levels achieved by the
Socialist Electoral League The Socialist Left Party of Norway ( no, Sosialistisk Venstreparti or SV) was founded in 1975. Its history shows a long-term rise in political influence, resulting in part from its emergence from older left-wing parties, especially the Socialist ...
. Their seat count rose to its peak after the 2001 Norwegian 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 A majority government is a government by one or more governing parties that hold an absolute majority of seats in a legislature. This is as opposed to a minority government, where the largest party in a legislature only has a plurality of seats. ...
. Early speculation said that the Labour Party had lost 100,000 votes to the Socialist Electoral League. In the 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election, the party gained 16 seats in
Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...
. After the unification process was finished, the party's voter base collapsed, falling to 4.2% of the national vote in the 1977 Norwegian parliamentary election, and earned only two seats in parliament. In the
1989 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 10 and 11 September 1989.Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 The Labour Party remained the largest party in the Storting, winning 63 of the 165 seat ...
, the Socialist Left gathered 10.1% of the national vote, falling back again after the
1997 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 14 and 15 September 1997. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 Prior to the election Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland of the Labour Party had issue ...
. After having what many described as a bad election, the Labour Party lost many of its voters to the Socialist Left in 2001, with the Socialist Left increasing from 6% to 12.5% of the national vote, again becoming the fourth largest party in the country. In the
2005 Norwegian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Norway on 11 and 12 September 2005. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p1438 The result was a victory for the opposition centre-left Red-Green Coalition, which r ...
, the party gathered 8.8% of the vote; this further decreased in the 2009 Norwegian parliamentary election, when the Socialist Left gathered 6.2% of the vote; and again in the 2013 Norwegian parliamentary election, when it gathered 4.1%, 1,600 votes away from falling under the
election threshold The electoral threshold, or election threshold, is the minimum share of the primary vote that a candidate or political party requires to achieve before they become entitled to representation or additional seats in a legislature. This limit can ...
. The Socialist Left Party bounced back in the mid-2010s, making gains in the 2017 Norwegian parliamentary election, and contributing to the big left-wing opposition win in the 2021 Norwegian parliamentary election.


Local elections

The 1975 Norwegian local elections were 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 to the Labour Party's election surge during the 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election. The party further decreased in popular support by the 1979 Norwegian local elections, earning 4.1% in the municipal and 4.4% in the county respectively. By the 1983 Norwegian local 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, the
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, 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 1987 Norwegian local elections, respectively at the municipal and county level. The party's strongest county was
Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...
, where the party gained 21.9% of the popular vote. The
1991 Norwegian local elections Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway on 8 and 9 September 1991. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. Re ...
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 1995 Norwegian local elections, the party gathered 5.9% in the municipalities and 6.1% in counties. Before the 1999 Norwegian local elections, polls showed an increase in popular support for the Socialist Left in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...
. 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 Norwegian local elections resulted in their voter base to reduced by half. In the 2011 Norwegian local elections, the party got just slightly above 4% of all votes on a nationwide basis. After this, party leader
Kristin Halvorsen Kristin Halvorsen (born 2 September 1960) is a Norwegian politician of the Socialist Left Party. She served as Minister of Finance from 2005 to 2009 and as Minister of Education from 2009 to 2013. She also served as the party's leader from 1997 ...
announced her resignation on the election night. A similar result repeated in the 2015 Norwegian local elections, despite gains for left-leaning parties, but the Socialist Left was able to form a majority coalition with the Labour Party and Red Party in
Tromsø Tromsø (, , ; se, Romsa ; fkv, Tromssa; sv, Tromsö) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Tromsø lies ...
. In the 2019 Norwegian local election, the Socialist Left Party returned to its 2007 levels and made further gains, alongside the
Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...
and Red parties.


Electoral results


See also

* Ireland Front * List of national conventions held by the Socialist Left Party *
Politics of Norway The politics of Norway take place in the framework of a parliamentary, representative democratic constitutional monarchy. Executive power is exercised by the Council of State, the cabinet, led by the prime minister of Norway. Legislative power ...


References


External links

* {{authority control 1975 establishments in Norway Ecosocialist parties Eurosceptic parties in Norway Nordic Green Left Alliance Opposition to the Iraq War Political parties established in 1975 Republicanism in Norway Socialist parties in Norway