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Norway Politics 2021

Norway is a constitutional monarchy with parliamentary representation. The King heads the executive branch, although executive power is wielded in practice by a Council of State (cabinet) comprised of ministers selected by the prime minister and formally appointed by the King. Legislative authority is vested in the unicameral parliament (Stortinget or Storting).

The Storting comprises 169 members directly elected for four-year terms through a system of proportional representation. A total of 150 members are elected from among 19 multi-member constituencies, and the remaining 19 members are elected at-large from among parties that receive at least 4 per cent of votes nationwide.

Political parties receive state funding proportionate to the results of the previous parliamentary elections, which constitutes the majority of parties’ funding. The 2005 Political Parties Act (amended in 2013) also permits donations to parties from private individuals and legal entities, and prohibits donations from anonymous, state, public or foreign sources.

Norwegians went to the polls on 13 September 2021 in a parliamentary election where the “Red-Green” opposition looked ahead, potentially influencing the fate of oil activities in the largest producer in Western Europe. According to opinion polls, a clear majority was emerging to unseat Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s center-right government, which had ruled the Nordic country for the last eight years. More than 1.6 million Norwegians, or 42.3 percent of the electorate, had made use of early voting opportunities.

Limited changes to the electoral legal framework have been introduced since the previous parliamentary elections, including measures to regulate adjustments to electoral processes during the pandemic, as well as some new provisions which addressed prior ODIHR recommendations, including revisions to the citizen’s duty to accept candidacy and extended rights for voters requiring assistance in polling stations. Some prior ODIHR recommendations remain unaddressed, including on the possibility for independent candidates to stand and judicial review of all election-related decisions. Election campaigns are largely unregulated and there is no legally defined campaign period. Political parties receive state funding proportionate to the results of the previous parliamentary elections, which constitutes the majority of parties’ funding. No legal limits are imposed on private campaign income and expenditures, although certain sources are prohibited. The leader of Norway’s Labour Party, Jonas Gahr Store, a 61-year-old millionaire who has campaigned against social inequality, seems well placed to succeed her, but the exact shape of the coalition needed to pave his way to office was unclear. His party’s preferred allies are the agrarian Centre Party and the Socialist Left Party, but if they are unable to reach a majority on their own, they might depend on the support of the Green Party and/or the communist Red Party, potentially complicating negotiations.

According to an average of opinion polls conducted between August 2 and September 11 and published late on Sunday by TV2, Store’s preferred three-party coalition was due to get 85 of 169 seats in parliament, giving it the narrowest possible majority. The centre-right was seen garnering 67 mandates, while the Red Party was predicted to take nine, and the Greens eight.

The August “code red for humanity” report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) put the issue at the top of the agenda for the election campaign and forced the country to reflect on the oil that has made it immensely rich. The report energised those who want to get rid of oil, both on the left and, to a lesser extent, on the right.