Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party (Norwegian: Sosialistisk Venstreparti, SV;Northern Sami: Sosialisttalaš Gurutbellodat) is a democratic socialist political party in Norway.[1] Positioned on the left-wing of the political spectrum,[2] it is opposed to European Union and the European Economic Area membership.[3][4][5] SV supports a strong public sector, stronger social welfare programs, environmentalism, and republicanism.[6][7] As of 2018, the party had 11,385 members;[8] the number has steadily increased since a low point in 2015. The party leader is Kirsti Bergstø, who was elected on 18 March 2023[9][10]
Socialist Left Party Sosialistisk Venstreparti
SV
16 March 1975
Hagegata 22, Oslo
11,385
- Red
- Green
- Purple (customary)
For de mange – ikke for de få ("For the Many – Not the Few")
The party was founded in 1973 as the Socialist Electoral League, an electoral coalition with the Communist Party of Norway, Socialist People's Party, Democratic Socialists – AIK, and independent socialists. 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 Communities (which later became the European Union) and of NATO.[11][12][13] SV calls for a stronger public sector, a mixed economy, and a strengthening of the social welfare net. While advocating democratic socialism, the party also increasingly profiles itself as a supporter of feminism[14] and environmentalism through eco-socialism.[1]
In the 2005 Norwegian parliamentary election, 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[9][10] and 2021 parliamentary elections, although it remained both times at the opposition.[15]
Organisation and structure[edit]
Organs[edit]
The party is split into five organs: the first national convention, which held every second year, the National Board, the Central Committee, Municipal and Local Chapters, and the Party Representatives.[77] 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, who stands for election every second year.[78]
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.[79] 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, the two deputy leaders, the party secretary, the parliamentary leader, the leader of the Socialist Youth, and five other members. The board holds a meeting almost every Monday.[80] The Municipal and Local Chapters organ works as "communication" body between the chapters and the national party.[81]
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, 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.[82]
Election history[edit]
Parliamentary elections[edit]
In the parliamentary elections in Norway, the Socialist Left Party is the seventh-largest party in Norway, behind the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, the Progress Party, the Christian Democratic Party, the Centre Party, and the Liberal Party. Its popularity initially declined from levels achieved by the Socialist Electoral League.[127] Its 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.[92]
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. Early speculation said that the Labour Party had lost 100,000 votes to the Socialist Electoral League.[87] In the 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election, the party gained 16 seats in Storting.[128] 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,[92] and earned only two seats in parliament.[93] In the 1989 Norwegian parliamentary election, the Socialist Left gathered 10.1% of the national vote,[92] falling back again after the 1997 Norwegian parliamentary election.[129]
After having what many described as a bad election, the Labour Party lost many of its voters to the Socialist Left in 2001,[130][131][132][133] with the Socialist Left increasing from 6% to 12.5% of the national vote, again becoming the fourth largest party in the country.[92] In the 2005 Norwegian parliamentary election, 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;[92] and again in the 2013 Norwegian parliamentary election, when it gathered 4.1%, 1,600 votes away from falling under the election threshold.[134] The Socialist Left Party bounced back in the mid-2010s,[9][10] making gains in the 2017 Norwegian parliamentary election,[120] and contributing to the big left-wing opposition win in the 2021 Norwegian parliamentary election.[15]
Local elections[edit]
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.[100] 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.[135] 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.[100]
By the 1983 Norwegian local elections, the party increased by 1% in the municipal and 0.9% in the county election.[100] 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, and the Socialist Left.[136] If the 1983 local election had been a parliamentary election, the Socialist Left would have received 8 seats in parliament.[137] The party earned 5.5% and 5.7% in the 1987 Norwegian local elections, respectively at the municipal and county level.[100] The party's strongest county was Nordland, where the party gained 21.9% of the popular vote.[138]
The 1991 Norwegian local elections 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.[100] The Socialist Left, along with the Centre Party, was named the election's "big winners" by the Norwegian press.[139] In the 1995 Norwegian local elections, the party gathered 5.9% in the municipalities and 6.1% in counties.[100] Before the 1999 Norwegian local elections, polls showed an increase in popular support for the Socialist Left in Oslo.[140] The reason for the increase was that the party was again able to win votes from the Labour Party.[141] The party gained 7.8% of the votes in the municipalities and 8.5% in the counties.[100]
By 2003, the party's voter based had increased dramatically over the 1999 local elections.[92] The party had what many described as a "record election", winning most of its voters from the Labour Party.[142] The 2007 Norwegian local elections resulted in their voter base to reduced by half.[143] 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 announced her resignation on the election night.[118] A similar result occurred in the 2015 Norwegian local elections, despite gains for left-leaning parties,[144][145] but the Socialist Left was able to form a majority coalition with the Labour Party and Red Party in Tromsø.[146] In the 2019 Norwegian local elections, the Socialist Left Party returned to its 2007 levels and made further gains, alongside the Green and Red parties.[147]