Norway’s elections: a shift to the right

Anna Sonny, 27 September 2013

After two terms in power, Norway’s centre-left red-green coalition were defeated in the elections this week, making way for a new conservative government. Erna Solberg’s Conservative Party won 96 out of 169 seats in parliament, and is looking to set up a right-wing coalition with the Christian Democrats, the Liberal Party and the Progress Party.

In stark comparison to other European countries, Norway is currently enjoying economic growth of more than 3% a year, a low unemployment record, increasing wages and a lucrative oil revenue of around 570 billion euros (the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund). One might wonder how any political party who have overseen such stability and high living standards could lose an election at a time like this, and also how the Progress Party could manage to enter government despite having formerly counted Anders Behring Breivik, the man who carried out the massacre that left 77 people dead and the world in shock two years ago, as one of its members.

In 2005 when the red-green coalition came to power, it was often referred to as one the most progressive governments in Europe, having been formed out of new and untraditional alliances and pushing forward progressive policies. This time around, the party did not have any new progressive reforms to campaign on – in fact, one of the slogans used by the trade union movement was ‘the right-wing political alternative is worse’ – which doesn’t inspire much confidence.

Despite having it pretty good compared to the rest of Europe, central issues for voters were illegal immigrants begging in the streets, and what the country should do with all its oil money; some felt it could be poured into the country’s social welfare system and infrastructure, instead of only going towards foreign investments. The Conservative Party’s slogan: ‘People not Billions’, contrasted with the trade unions’ defensive one, and emphasized this importance of the individual’s needs, instead of the health of the banks.

The red-green’s loss has been blamed on ‘power fatigue’ but has made way for the anti-immigrant, right-wing populist Progress Party to enter government for the first time as part of the coalition, despite the fact that it actually lost 12 seats in parliament. With the Greek government last week calling for a possible ban on the anti-immigrant, ultra-nationalist right-wing party Golden Dawn after a well-known left-wing rapper was killed by one of its members, Europe needs to watch out for the xenophobic parties that end up gaining power.