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A foreigner’s guide to understanding Norwegian politics in five minutes

Norway’s political system, with its many parties and proportional representation voting system, can be a little confusing for international residents to get their heads around. Here’s a quick guide to help you understand how it works.

Published: 9 December 2022 16:14 CET

Pictured is Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre

Here's what you need to know to get you up to speeds with the basics of Norwegian politics. Pictured is the current Norwegian PM Jonas Gahr Støre. Photo by Vesa Moilanen / Lehtikuva / AFP

Trying to get to grips with the idiosyncrasies of a political system can be confusing. However, it is crucial as it goes someway to helping you understand the debates, decisions and rules which will shape your life in the country.

It can be easy to get lost in Norway’s political system due to its strange voting system and numerous parties. Therefore, we’ve put together a quick guide to get you up to speed with the basics.

Parliament and elections

Norway’s parliament, the Storting, is comprised of 169 MPs who represent 19 constituencies based on former counties. Each constituency elects between four and 20 MPs. The number of MPs representing an area depends on its size and population.

This is done to ensure that rural areas are slightly overrepresented so that policy isn’t solely formulated around the big cities. Certain parties like the Centre Party, which focuses on decentralisation, farming and rural communities, are said to benefit from this.

Parliaments are elected in national general elections every four years. The next election in Norway will be held in 2025. Those turning 18 on the year the election is held can vote, and only citizens can participate in general elections.

Voting works on a proportional representation system. Essentially this means the model tries to ensure the parties with the most votes get the most seats. The belief is that this is fairer than a ‘winner takes all system’ like first past the post in which the party with the most seats secures full representation in parliament.

The Norwegian model includes levelling seats via the sperregrense (barrier limit) system. This is a threshold which awards extra seats to parties that secure more than four percent of the total vote. This is to ensure that parties that receive nationwide support are fairly represented and to stop too many parties from entering parliament.

One final thing to note is that Norway is a single-chamber system, meaning there isn’t an additional house, like the House of Lords in the UK.

Government and parties

A multi-party system is in place in the Nordic country. Due to the large number of parties, it is improbable that a single party secures enough seats to form a government. Instead, both minority and majority coalitions are formed.

The current government is a minority coalition formed by the Labour Party and Centre Party. The Labour-led government, with the leader of the party, Jonas Gahr Støre, also being PM, typically works with the Socialist Left Party on crucial policy proposals and the state budget to secure a parliamentary majority.

This majority ensures that policy passes through parliament and can become law and legislation. However, the presence of the minority government also means policy proposals can change, and negotiations can drag on for weeks.

For example, nearly two months passed between the budget being announced and a deal being agreed upon. In addition, the Socialist Left Party credits itself for seeing energy support in Norway raised from 50 percent when the price rises above 70 øre per kilowatt hour to 80 percent. Since then, the support has been increased to 90 percent.

There are nine mainstream political parties in Norway. Below we’ll give you a (very) basic overview of them all.

Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet): The social democratic, centre-left party has historically been Norway’s largest. They are currently in government, and their leader is Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s PM. Throughout 2022, Labour and its government partner, the Centre Party, have struggled in the polls.

Conservative Party (Høyre): Norway’s second-largest party leans to the right of the centre and is ideologically focused on Liberal Conservatism. They were toppled in the previous election, but leader Erna Solberg remains a popular choice with voters.

Centre Party (Senterpartiet): The party has roots in the Peasant Movement. It was initially called the Farmer’s Party and is still focused on Agrarianism (rural and farming issues). It sits reasonably centrally on the political spectrum but is heavily opposed to Norway’s membership of the EEA and any potential membership of the EU. Its leader is the current Minister of Finance, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum.

Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet): This party sits on the furthest right of Norwegian politics and could be described as a populist, nationalist or liberal-conservative party. The party is one of the more junior ones (in terms of age) and is heavily positioned against immigration. It left the previous government over the repatriation of a former IS bride.

Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti): The left-wing, democratic socialist party is the government’s preferred negotiating partner. Its current leader, Audun Lysbakken, will step down in 2023.

Red Party (Rødt):This is the party to the furthest left of Norwegian politics. The party was founded in 2007 and is headed up by Bjørnar Moxnes. In 2021 the party delivered its best-ever election results and, like the Progress Party, is opposed to the EU.

Liberal Party (Venstre): Despite being called “Left” in Norwegian, they actually sits to the centre of Norwegian politics. They formed part of the 2017 government that was ousted in 2021. Their leader is Guri Melby, and the party subscribes to social liberalism.

Green Party (Miljøpartiet de Grønne): Is focused on green politics. Ideologically they sit to the centre-left of Norwegian politics. The party opposes itself to the biggest left and right-wing parties. The party has taken the position of refusing to sit in government with any party that will continue to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea. Its newly elected leader is Arild Hermstad.

Christian Democratic Party (Kristelig Folkeparti): The Christian Democratic Party sits to the centre-right of Norwegian politics and was part of the previous centre-right government. Its current leader Olaug Bollestad took over after the previous leader stepped down over a commuter housing and tax scandal.

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INTERVIEW: 'A lot of people think Brexit is done, but it's not for Brits in Europe'

In the early days of 2021, after the United Kingdom had left the EU and completed the final stage of Brexit, many British citizens returned to their home countries in Europe only to face a grilling at the border.

Though the Withdrawal Agreement (WA) technically guaranteed their right to live and work in the countries they’d settled in before Brexit, there was widespread confusion about these fundamental rights and many were treated like new arrivals.

Over time, the chaos at the airports subsided as border officials and airlines were given clearer guidance on the treatment of Brits. But three years later, a number of Brits who live on the continent still face problems when it comes to proving their post-Brexit rights.

This was the reason campaign group British in Europe decided to set up their new EU-funded ICE project. Starting this year in March, it aims to build valuable connections between UK citizens abroad and mentor the next generation of civil rights advocates around the continent. The acronym stands for ‘Inform, Empower, Connect’ and the project’s organisers describe it as “the first project of its kind”.

“It’s a completely innovative project – especially the fact that it’s across so many countries,” Jane Golding, chair of British in Europe and one of the project’s founders, told The Local.

Bringing together groups from 11 EU member states, the project aims to train up volunteers to understand both the Withdrawal Agreement and EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, as well as learning skills like advocacy and communication, using real-life civil rights cases that are referred to British in Europe.

“The ultimate goal is to amplify the messages across the wider group,” said Golding. “You start with the volunteers, they go back to their groups, then the people that we train, they go back and train people. Then they pass on that knowledge to the wider groups, on their Facebook accounts and through social media, and hopefully it all snowballs, not just in their countries but across the EU.”

‘Far-reaching repercussions’

So many years after Brexit, it’s hard to believe that there’s still a need for a project like ICE that empowers Brits to protect their rights. Indeed, the future of groups like British in Europe and regional groups like British in Germany and British in Spain felt uncertain just a year or two ago.

But Golding says there are still serious issues cropping up for Brits in several countries around Europe – they just have a different quality to the problems that arose at the start.

“In some ways it’s needed even more because as we predicted right at the beginning, at the first stage of implementation, you’ve got the more routine cases,” she explained.

“What we’re seeing now is not as many cases, but when the cases come up, they’re complex. They can have such far-reaching repercussions on people’s lives. And of course, memories start to fade. A lot of people think Brexit is already done, but it’s not.”

Volunteers in British in Europe ICE project

The volunteers of the British in Europe ICE project pose for a photo at the kick-off meeting in Brussels on May 21st, 2024. Photo courtesy of Jane Golding

Though the rights set out in the Withdrawal Agreement apply across the continent, different countries have taken different approaches to implementing them.

That means that while in Germany, for example, UK citizens simply had to declare that they lived in the country, people in neighbouring Denmark had to apply for their rights.

This led to a notorious situation in Denmark in which as many as 2,000 Brits were threatened with deportation after not applying in time or completing the right application process. According to Golding, this had a lot to do with the fact that people who arrived in 2020 weren’t given the same information as other UK migrants who arrived before.

In Sweden, meanwhile, the situation is still difficult for many Brits who lived there prior to Brexit.

“There have been issues with an anomalously high numbers of refusals compared to other countries, and they seem to be taking a very strict approach on late applications,” Golding explained.

Portugal has been another difficult case. Although the country opted for a declaratory system where Brits could simply exchange old residence documents for a new ID card after Brexit, reports suggest that the authorities have taken years to issue these cards, leaving many of the some 34,000 Brits in the country in limbo.

“While people are still waiting to have their status confirmed and have their card in their hand, it’s difficult to access a whole range of services, like health services, or applying for jobs or dealing with the authorities, or even going to the bank,” Golding said. “All of these problems just affect people’s lives.”

A French border guard checks a passport at the border

A French border guard checks a passport at the border. Photo by DENIS CHARLET / AFP

There are also concerns about the EU’s new exit and entry system (EES), due to come into force in October, which is based on biometric documentation.

“We still do not have clear data on how many people in declaratory countries like Germany, where it wasn’t compulsory to apply for the card, don’t actually have a card,” Golding said. “How is that going to play out if it’s a document-based digitalised system?”

A lack of support

In the immediate aftermath of Brexit, funding from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) was still available to support NGOs in Europe helping Brits with their migration and civil rights issues. But that temporary funding soon expired, leaving groups like British in Europe largely on their own.

“The whole point is people’s lives change at very different paces,” Golding said. “And now this project is really going to start to pick up some of those cases and report on those issues, which is really crucial and exciting for the precedent that it sets, and it’s very clearly necessary still, because people don’t just sort their lives in the 18 months that the FCDO chose to supply that funding.”

This feeling of being left alone and increasingly isolated from the UK is one that many Brits in Europe have felt in the aftermath of Brexit. But the upcoming UK election on July 4th could be a game-changer.

This time, following a change in the law, Brits who have lived abroad for more than 15 years will be able to vote for the first time.

Polling station in the UK

A polling station in the UK. Photo by Elliott Stallion on Unsplash

When it comes to the election, the message from British in Europe is clear: “Make your voice count now, make your vote count, make sure you use it,” Golding said.

With the June 18th registration deadline fast approaching, BiE is advising UK citizens abroad to apply for a proxy vote as soon as possible, rather than relying on a postal vote from abroad. Since the 15-year rule was abolished on January 16th, more than 100,000 British citizens have registered to vote, according to official statistics. It is unclear how many were registered before the change in the law.

With an estimated 5.5 million Brits currently living abroad – 1.3 million of whom are in the EU – this could have a significant impact on the electoral landscape, Golding says. But most significantly, the change is creating a feeling of connection and belonging that wasn’t there before.

Nurturing this sense of belonging is one of the main goals of ICE.

With these bridges being built, British in Europe hopes to create a network of support that spans across borders.

“Now we’ve met. We’re going to meet,” said Golding. “We know we’re going to meet again in Berlin in October and then we’ll meet again in the new year in 2025 as well. It means a huge amount because even British in Europe, our steering team, we’ve only met physically three times.”

This opens up the possibility of people sharing their knowledge from country to country, Golding explained.

“There is crossover and the reassurance of having that EU wide view and knowing that you’re not alone and knowing that in this country, we managed to get this solution,” she said. “And then you can go back and say to the authorities in your country, well, in that country they did that – all of that helps. It’s really good.”

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