Norwegian Storting Election 2009

[Jens]

The next Storting election is at September 14th and the current Red-Green government is trying to keep the power.

Last Storting election 2005

Government:
Norwegian Labour Party: 32,7 % 61 M
Socialist Left Party: 8,8 % 15 M
Centre Party: 6,5 % 11 M

Opposition:
Progress Party: 22,1 % 38 M
Conservative Party (Right): 14,1 % 23 M
Christian People's Party: 6,8 % 11 M
Liberal Party (Left): 5,9 % 10 M

[minionofmidas]

"Left" is an oversimplification (certainly true in comparison to the Danish Liberals, though.) Or were you just translating the party names?

[Jens]

"Left" is an oversimplification (certainly true in comparison to the Danish Liberals, though.) Or were you just translating the party names?

Spot on, Venstre in Norway is just as fun as the Danish Left and Radical Left. Don't know why people claim that Portugal has the most misnamed parties.

Venstre in Norway and Radikale Venstre in Denmark are sister parties.

[minionofmidas]

"Left" is an oversimplification (certainly true in comparison to the Danish Liberals, though.) Or were you just translating the party names?

Spot on, Venstre in Norway is just as fun as the Danish Left and Radical Left. Don't know why people claim that Portugal has the most misnamed parties.

Venstre in Norway and Radikale Venstre in Denmark are sister parties.

But RV tends to ally with the Social Democrats, Norway's Venstre with the parties to its right.

[Jens]

The television station TV2 has an excellent polling barometre covering the last 4 years
http://www.tv2nyhetene.no/innenriks/politikk/valg09/article2803676.ece

[Jens]

"Left" is an oversimplification (certainly true in comparison to the Danish Liberals, though.) Or were you just translating the party names?

Spot on, Venstre in Norway is just as fun as the Danish Left and Radical Left. Don't know why people claim that Portugal has the most misnamed parties.

Venstre in Norway and Radikale Venstre in Denmark are sister parties.

But RV tends to ally with the Social Democrats, Norway's Venstre with the parties to its right.

True, but that has more to do with DNA's reluctance to enter a coalition. The current government is the first where DNA is governing together with other parties. The Danish Social Democrats entered into a coalition with RV in 1929! Another factor is the Centre Party who hasn't got a Danish sister.

[Hash]

Venstre is one of the best parties in Europe, though Høyre is obviously a good example for a modern conservative party.

[Jens]

Latest poll from TV-2

Ap 34,7 % 64 M (+3)
SV 8,7 % 13 M (-2)
Sp 4,1 % 6 M (-5)

Frp 25,3 % 47 M (+9)
H 12,9 % 20 M (-3)
KrF 6,7 % 10 M (-1)
V 4,6 % 7 M (-3)

Rødt 2,1 % 2 M (+2)

No majority for the government, nor for the centre-right

[Jens]

Venstre is one of the best parties in Europe, though Høyre is obviously a good example for a modern conservative party.

And both is getting slaughtered by Fremskrittspartiet.

[minionofmidas]

What's the threshold - 2%?

[freek]

What's the threshold - 2%?

There is no threshold. Norway is divided in 19 multi-member constituencies (each county is a constituency). A constituency has a fixed number of seats, between 3 and 16 seats, based on population and geographic area. In total there are 150 constituency seats.

In addition there are 19 levelling seats (one in each county), distributed on a nationwide basis to parties that received less constituency seats than their nationwide percentage would suggest. These seats do have a threshold, of 4% of the votes nationwide.

[minionofmidas]

What's the threshold - 2%?

There is no threshold. Norway is divided in 19 multi-member constituencies (each county is a constituency). A constituency has a fixed number of seats, between 3 and 16 seats, based on population and geographic area. In total there are 150 constituency seats.

In addition there are 19 levelling seats (one in each county), distributed on a nationwide basis to parties that received less constituency seats than their nationwide percentage would suggest. These seats do have a threshold, of 4% of the votes nationwide.

Okay, so a 4% threshold unless your strongholds are urban or really pronounced.

Sainte-Lague?

[Jens]

Venstre was dead for about 30 years after EEC referendum in seventies. The last civilized coalition in Norway was the Kjell Mande Bondeviks KD+SP+V goverment.

Well Jarl, I disagree - the current Ap + SV + Sp coalition is quite civilized - and since it looks like any coalition to the right will include Frp, they really isn't a proper "civilized" alternative. Venstre survived her split in 1973 and stayed, very reduced, in parliament until 1985 and reentered in 1993

[freek]

Okay, so a 4% threshold unless your strongholds are urban or really pronounced.

Yes. For example the Kyst (Coast) Party, that won 1 of the 10 seats in the Nordland county in 1997 and 2001, despite having 0.4% and 1.7% of the votes on a national level.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Modified Sainte-Laguë (as in Sweden). The divisor range is 1.4, 3, 5, 7, ... Normal Sainte-Laguë uses 1, 3, 5, 7,...

[minionofmidas]

That modification raises the threshold for a seat.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

"Left" is an oversimplification (certainly true in comparison to the Danish Liberals, though.) Or were you just translating the party names?

Spot on, Venstre in Norway is just as fun as the Danish Left and Radical Left. Don't know why people claim that Portugal has the most misnamed parties.

Venstre in Norway and Radikale Venstre in Denmark are sister parties.

The Social Democrats are the only misnamed party in Portugal. Iceland's are quite amusing though (Especially that the Liberal Party is really a bunch of xenophobic nuts.) Brazil has some amusing ones as well (Isn't there a party in Brazil that was formed as the political wing of a communist guerrilla group but is now a centrist pro-market party?)

[Jens]

Test ourself - which Norwegian party would you vote for (inc. translation)
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/innenriks/valg/valg_2009/1.6731848

From left to right: totally agree (helt enig) --- totally disagree (helt uenig)

Page 1:

Q1: Private hospitals/health care services should be equalised with public
Q2: There should be fewer and larger hospitals
Q3: Health care fees should be abolised
Q4: Private schools should be allowed
Q5: The schools should keep national tests

Page 2

Q1: The Christian paragraf of purpose in daycares should not be removed (a bit hard to translate formålsparagraf
Q2: The mariage law should be the same for hetero- and homosexuals
Q3: Christianity should have a special position in the Norwegian State
Q4: Unemployment benefits should be abolised
Q5: The higher income, the higher taxation

Page 3

Q1: Fortune tax and inheritance tax should be abolised
Q2: Business tax should be lowered
Q3: Norway should join the EU
Q4: Norway should lower the financial support to the Palestinians
Q5: Norway should withdraw its troops from Afganistan

Page 4

Q1: Immigration to Norway should increase
Q2: Norway should accept more UN-refugees
Q3: There has to be demands to language and knowledge to gain citizenship (This is about how hard the citizenship test should be)
Q4: Oil drilling in Lofoten and Vesterålen should be allowed  (Siv Jensen from FrP is the Norwegian "drill baby, drill")
Q5: Businesses should abide to strict environmental demands

Page 5

Q1: Public transportation should be free in the major cities (wherever they are )
Q2: The state should own a significant part of Norwegian businesses
Q3: Rural areas should have the same public services even if it is expensive
Q4: Small municipals should be joined, even if they don't want to (Norway have many extremely small municipals
Q5: Norwegian agriculture should be heavily protected from foreign competition

Page 6

Q1: Alternatives to prison time should be used more often
Q2: The alcohol law should be harsher
Q3: The police should continue being unarmed in daily service


Have fun

[minionofmidas]

You forgot to post the link.

[Jens]

You forgot to post the link.

Brilliant

[minionofmidas]

Red 55%
SV 55%
KrF 41%
AP 38%
Center 32%
Venstre 32%
Hoyre 18%
frP 14%

Third place was a little... surprising.

[Jens]

Norstats for NRK:
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/innenriks/valg/valg_2009/1.6723136

Ap: 32,7 %
SV: 9,2 %
Sp: 5,3 %
Krf: 6,3 %
V: 6,2 %
H: 11,1 %
Frp: 27,5 %
R: 0,3 %
Others: 1,4 %

[Bono]

FrP 54%
H 52%
KrF 35%
Sp 32%
Ap 29%
V 27%
Sv 12%
R 11%

[Jens]

Socialist Left Party 67%
Red 63%
Workers Party 37%
Left (Social Liberal Party) 35%
Christian People's Party 35%
Centre Party 26%
Right 24%
Progress Party 16%

[Bono]

Jens, is there any feature that says what is each party's 'answer' to the questions?

[Jens]

Jens, is there any feature that says what is each party's 'answer' to the questions?

No, unfortunately. I especially would like to see what the Centre Party's answers were.