History of the Socialist Left Party
Encyclopedia
The history of the Socialist Left Party of Norway
or "SV," founded in 1975, shows a long-term rise in political influence. The SV's rise has resulted in part from its emergence from older leftist
parties, most notably the Socialist People's Party
. After initial political setbacks in the 1970s, the party reorganized and regained support, particularly under Theo Koritzinsky
(1983–87) and Erik Solheim
(1987–97). Support dropped in the election of 1997
but rose again by the 21st Century, thanks to the party's position as the only sizeable party left of Norway's Labour Party. Further helping the party's rise was Labour's move further to the right
under Jens Stoltenberg
. By 2005, the Socialist Left Party had joined Norway's governing Red-Green Coalition with the Labour and Centre
parties: Kristin Halvorsen
is the current leader.
After losing all of its parliamentary seats in the 1969 parliamentary election
, the Socialist People's Party
sought to create an election coalition between various left-wing parties. After previously being sceptical of working with the Communist Party of Norway
, the party eventually became a member of the coalition along with the Democratic Socialists - AIK
and various non-party aligned independent socialists. Reidar T. Larsen
, the then leader of the Communist Party said the members who met up at the party's national convention
unanimously elected "yes" to be a member of the coalition, which would later go by the name of the Socialist Electoral League.
The four leading members of the coalition, were Finn Gustavsen
, Berge Furre
(both from the Socialist People's Party), Berit Ås
(from AIK) and Larsen (from the Communist Party). Furre and Ås, underlined that the three parties were still operating independently in 1973, while Larsen was very pleased with the outcome, citing that the main object of the communist party was to "unite all socialist parties" to one joint cause. The coalition also stressed the issue that they did not want to create a joint platform for the three parties, claiming it to be un-important for their image. During a September meeting, Gustavsen was elected parliamentary leader
for the coalition, with Larsen og Ås being elected to the group board. It was decided that Torild Skard
would seek the position as President of the Storting. Roald Halvorsen
from the Communist Party, was elected Genereal Secretary of the coalition. After the meeting, the party sought to build a closer relationship with the Labour Party
, and said they would support a Labour run minority government
.
, the party leader at that time, supported dissolving the party, while Deputy Leader
Martin Gunnar Knudsen wanted the party to continue as a political party
. Signs before the election showed that the majority supported Knudsen. The media speculated that the faction led by Larsen would split from the party to join the ranks of the Socialist Left.
In the coalition chapter of Oslo, the Communist Party wanted Arne Jørgensen, editor-in-chief of Friheten
, to get the top position on the election list for the 1975 local elections
. However, the majority of the Socialist People's Party
members of the Oslo chapter did not want him to top the list because of his background in Norwegian local politics. Socialist People's members stated that they had nothing against nominating Communist Party members, commenting that they had placed communist Karl Kromann on second place. Seeing that the Socialist People's Party, who had received most of the votes for coalition, had only received one of four of the political office positions for the coalition. Jørgensen lost the election for the first spot, instead he earned 11th place on the list, he lost his nomination to Socialist People's official, Fred Dunhaug. Parliamentary leader
Finn Gustavsen
officially endorsed Jørgensens candidacy during the national convention
in Trondheim
, saying he did not want to "split the coalition", which in-turn would wreck his plan of uniting the coalition into a political party
. In May, the Oslo coalition chapter held a oral election for the top place on the election list, were Jørgensen received 189 votes, against Dunhaugs 192. Being that the winner won only with so few votes, they decided to hold a written election, this time Dunhaugs 197 votes while Jørgensen received 196. Following the results, twenty-one other communist candidates withdrew from their candidacy. This event damaged the unification process and inner struggle continued.
Another conflict between the Socialist People's Party and the Communist Party was the decision to merge the two party papers, Friheten and Orientering to found a new one. However, Larsen rejected this offer, he instead wanted the two papers to maintain in orbit even if the two parties merged. Berit Ås
felt that the party leadership had weakened its position, saying they had; "kicked the ball over to the communists". With the Communist Party rejecting the offer, Orientering was replaced by Ny Tid
.
While always clear where Larsen stood in the unification process, since his inception as leader of the Communist Party in 1969, he had been able to hold a strong party following. But his support started to waver when he wanted to put an end to the "pro-Soviet
line" the party had previously held during Emil Løvlien
. He had always held a vision of one single united left-wing party to the left of Labour, however this vision was not supported by the "communist hardliners". In the aftermath of the Communist Party national convention
, Larsen said his speech was "behind closed doors - and behind closed ears". He suffered a clear defeat at the party conference
, he along with his remaining supporters left the Communist Party to join the newly founded Socialist Left. Without the Communist Party, the Socialist People's Party and AIK formed the Socialist Left, seeing that the policies of the Socialist Left was nearly identical to the Socialist People's Party, it has often been seen as the party's direct successor.
Berit Ås
was elected as a compromise candidate at the so-called unification congress. During the 1975 local elections
she became the party's most influential figure. However, her campaigning and her debating skills were criticised by both the Norwegian press and within her own party. During the election campaign, Ås wanted to become the party's representative at the leader debates, a position held by Finn Gustavsen
, from the Socialist People's Party, since the 1960s. Dag og Tid
described Ås' performance at the leader debates as "messy".
At the party's first national convention in November 1975 it was decided to maintain "a soft party line
" towards the remaining Communist Party members still active in the Socialist Left Party. However, they did urge the remaining pro-Communist Party communists to leave the party. Rune Fredh
, who had supported Larsen in the Communist Party, called the situation "insane". He retained the belief that the Larsen, and the remaining communists, would continue to fight for communism
in the Soviet Union
and the Eastern Bloc
.
After experiencing what many observers called a "bad" election in 1976, a national convention was held early in 1976. During her short tenure, Ås lost all trust amongst party members. Several leading members were calling Berge Furre
to take over as party Chairman. However, early in the nomination process, there were rumours that the party AIK-Communist wing would establish a united front against former Socialist People's Party members. No factions, or any party notables, supported, or announced their support for Ås' reelection. It was decided at the convention that Socialist Left Party members could only be members of one party at the time, which ment that the remaining communists members had to chose between the Socialist Left Party and the Communist Party. Reidar T. Larsen
and Fredh, the party's Party Secretary, told the conventions delegates that "the road the Communist Party is following is from now on its own". Furre was elected as party chairman at this convention with little or no opposition against him.
On the election list for the 1977 election
Ås became the party's second candidate in Oslo for a seat in the Storting – Ås lost first place to Stein Ørnhøi
. Because of the party's internal difficulties, its electoral base was greatly weakened in 1977, only one Socialist Left candidate from Oslo won a seat in the Storting, and nationwide, only two party candidates won a seat to the Storting.
, previously unofficially known as the Socialist People's Party
's "crown prince", became party chairman following the feud between Ås and Finn Gustavsen
over who would represent the party during the 1975 local elections
. Gustavsen resigned from his position as parliamentary leader
as early signs indicated that he did not have the full support of the party's Election Committee. The party, which suffered several after shocks after its founding, was in a oranisational mess. Verdens Gang speculated that the rule of (e.g. the party chairman) would be replaced by a troika, a collective leadership, led by Furre (from the Socialist People's Party) as party chairman, Reidar T. Larsen
(from the Communist Party
) as parliamentary leader and Ås (from Democratic Socialists – AIK
) as deputy leader.
The establishment of the Socialist Left Party had several destabilising effects, such as weakening the party's voter base. Several opinion measurements indicated that several voters were, or thinking of, leaving the party or vote for the Labour Party in the 1977 election
. As the power struggle between the left-wing and right-wing factions worsened, Steinar Stjernø
was accused of trying to expel party's the social democratic-wing (e.g. the right-wing faction). However, Sternjø called the rumours "absurd" – the reason for the accusation was that Stjernø wanted to create a "new and radical alternative for the Norwegian working class". At the national convention were Ås stepped down as party chairwoman, the party had not succeeded to make itself into a viable option for the common voter. Furre told the convention's delegates that the party would be able to win over voters, and take several from the Labour Party, when, and if, the internal situation stabilised itself. Another reason, according to Furre, was that Odvar Nordli
's Cabinet
was moving the Labour Party further to a centre
. It caused some controversy that two of the newly elected Members of Parliament had been convicted for treason
for collaborating with the Nazis
during World War II
.
Believing that the Labour Party had moved further to the political centre
, Berge Furre
responded by stating that the Socialist Left Party could only support a left-oriented minority government
. Labour Party Secretary Ivar Leveraas
responded negatively to Furre's comment, saying "It isn't appropriate for the Labour Party to sit down together with the Socialist Left to discuss our political program and conditions for support, like Berg Furre requires".
Late in 1977, it was known that both Furre and Finn Gustavsen
had revealed classified information during an open meeting in the People's House of Oslo on 22 August 1977, after threatening to do so. When this got know, the parliament established the Schei Committee
which investigated the two of them. Not knowing what to do, representatives from Odelstinget voted in favour of shelving the case. 44 voted for, while 47 voted against prosecuting the two of them. When the results were made official, the media speculated the results was some kind of "punishment" against party since the incident proved that the party was unablele to protect valuable
information which could have jeopardized Norway's security interests.
After having what Verdens Gang
(VG) described as a "disastrous election", with the party losing fourteen of their sixteen seats in the Storting, the party discussed changing its election platform. The platform, which had changed little since the 1973 election
, was the center of a power struggle were some Socialist Left Party members were calling removing the peace paragraf which called for the disbandment of the Norwegian military and the removal of foreign military bases located domestically. Several leading members opposed this paragraf, and Furre and Gustavsen, both of who came from the moderate camp, wanted to make the paragraf a bit more moderate, which they succeeded at in the 1977 Socialist Left Party national convention. In the election's aftermath, then Prime Minister
Odvar Nordli
from the Labour Party, criticised the Socialist Left for being "capitalists" who supported right-wing
policies, and further claimed that the Labour Party was the only "anti-capitalist" alternative left.
In the wake of the 1979 local elections
, the internal struggle continued, with Verdens Gang
claiming the situation inside the party was like a "civil war". When asked about the situation, Furre controversially claimed that there had never been so much stability within the party, considering that the mainpolicy issues had been solved during the 1979 Socialist Left Party national convention. The party's electoral base became even smaller during the 1979 election, with the winning 4.1% in the municipal and 4.4% in the county elections respectively. At the national convention of 1983, the party was able to greatly stabilise itself. The national convention, with the majority of the delegates voting in favour, adopted socialism
as the party's most important campaign promise during the election. Hanna Kvanmo
, parliamentary leader
for the Socialist Left Party, claimed in the convention's aftermath that for the first time in the party's history there was a "consensus in most areas". Furre was again reelected as party Chairman, while Hilde Bojer and Torbjørn Dahl became the party's first and second deputy leader
respectively. The Socialist Left Party was able to increase its voting share with 0.7 percent, from a meager 4.2 to 4.9 percent nationwide, during the 1981 election to the Storting
.
, the party's Party Secretary, became very critical of the party's left-wing faction. He claimed that these radicals contributed nothing to the party, and were more interested in being against everything, then supporting any policies. Writing for the party newspaper Ny Tid
Solheim criticised the party's support for, what he claimed to be "extreme", progressive taxation, and stated he wanted to give the party a new public image. Another accusation of his was that the party had become conservative, e.g. objecting to change, and further claimed that there had not been any major changes to the party's policies since its establishment in 1975. Many members supported Solheim's criticism, and Solheim's criticism led to a renewed internal struggle within the Socialist Left Party between the right-wing and left-wing factions. Several leading party officials, such as Furre, agreed with Solheim's criticism. Furre shared severals of Solheim's views, and told the press that the party had discussed the same-old topics over-and-over again for several years.
Furre announced his resignation as party chairman early in 1983. None of the party's leading members of the time, most notably Hanna Kvanmo
, Per Maurseth
and Hilde Bojer, sought the party's chairmanship. Because of this Theo Koritzinsky
was elected the party's new chairman at the 1983 Socialist Left Party national convention. The majority in the party's Election Committee had officially endorsed Koritzinsky before the 1983 national convention.
The Socialist Left Party initiated the Action Plan at the 1983 national convention which supported an increase in public spending on the elderly and fix what they called "serious issues with the welfare state
". Theo Koritzinsky
wanted to increase the pension up to at least 40,000 NOK
s, or at most, to 50,000 NOKs. The Action Plan was heavily promoted, and Koritzinsky tried to collaborate with both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party
to get it passed in the Storting. Another worry of Koritzinsky and the party was that, in their eyes, the public sector
had begun to decay
. The crippling of the public sector, according to the party, led to increased unemployment
within the sector.
During his campaign, Koritzinsky made a habit of campaigning outside major cities. In an interview with the Norwegian News Agency
, Koritzinsky was amazed of the support he was able to gather, and even claimed of "a renewed interest" for the party. While disappointed with the initial results in the 1983 local elections, Koritzinsky was pleased with the overall outcome of both the Socialist Left Party and the Labour Party, but was worried of the increased interests right-wing parties, especially the Progress Party
.
In the aftermath of the American invasion of Grenada
, the party organised protests in Oslo against the war. Koritzinsky, during the protests, accusing the right of being slaves to the United States Government. Over 200,000 demonstrators attended the protests, with many Latin America
n interest groups being vocal of their supports for the demonstrations. Koritzinsky criticised western diplomacy against the Soviet Union
, citing it as unfair that the First World
only denounces military actions when the Soviet Union or the communist world participate, or lead, them, while remaining passive if the United States participates, or leads, one. At the 1983 national convention, the majority of the delegates sought to collaborate with the Labour Party in the 1985 parliamentary elections
. Gro Harlem Brundtland
, the Labour chairwoman at the time, told the press that she was considering a proposal by the Socialist Left Party that the two parties make joint-lists during the elections. In another press conference, Koritzinsky told the press that he was worried that if a election pact was not established between the two parties, the "bourgeois right-wing parties" would create their own", and maybe even "win" the election if the left did not respond properly.
Koritzinsky, in 1984, wanted party members who were teachers to leave local trade unions for the much larger, Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions
(NCTU). However, Koritzinsky was not the only one promoting this idea; the Labour Party and Communist Party
had done so for years. While supporting his original goal of enlarging the NCTU, Koritzinsky also recognized that there existed good reasons for teachers to work in traditional organisations – Koritzinsky was previously a member of a local trade union before being elected party chairman. On another subject, Koritzinsky favored a direct election
on the question of arming Norway with nuclear weapons, or to lett foreign powers settle nuclear weapons on Norwegian soil.
When Stein Ørnhøi
retired from active politics in 1984, Koritzinsky was seen as a likely candidate to replace Ørnhøi in the Storting, but, as time showed, other members were also interested in the Storting seat, most notably prominent Oslo City Councillor
Per Maurseth
and veteran politician Finn Gustavsen
. Early speculations were highly skeptical of Gustavsen's candidacy. The Socialist Left Party Oslo's nomination committee was split between Koritzinsky and Maurseth – they won 12 and 11 votes respectively, Gustavsen won only one vote. As it turned out, Koritzinsky became Socialist Left Party's first candidate for the Storting, while Maurseth became second, winning a vote over Kristin Halvorsen
for second place. Gustavsen, as it turned out, was not even placed on the list.
At the national convention of 1985, Koritzinsky told the delegates that "The voters accepted us as part of the labor movement for a long time ago. This is proven by the fact that among one third of Labor voters consider the Socialist Left Party as their second voting preference. However, the Labor Party leadership has not accepted us a political force, and its clear to us, and them, that more voters will take us seriously if the Labor Party starts treating us with mutual respect. In it there is a political gain". Kvanmo quickly corrected Koritzinsky; from "in it there is a political gain" to "it may be a political gain". She further stated that the party's most realistic goal was not collaborate with the Labour Party, but to increase the party's voter base up to "five to six percent". At the national convention, Koritzinsky wanted the party to promote itself as a "Red-Green alternative" to the Labour Party, an idea which was had broad support within the party. One month after the national convention, Koritzinsky along with officials from the International Department of the Socialist Left Party visited West Germany
to discuss green politics
with members of the Green Party
.
In June 1985, the Socialist Left rejected an offer made jointly by the Communist Party of Norway
, the Workers' Communist Party
and the Red Electoral Alliance
(the electoral organisation of the Workers' Communist Party) of establishing and electoral coalition in the 1985 elections to the Storting
. Instead, Koritzinsky continued with his plans in establishing some sort of electoral collaboration with the Labour Party by encouraging all local party chapters to begin formal contact with their Labour Party counterpart. However, the Labour Party still showed no great interest in a coalition; the party neither rejected or accepted Koritzinsky's offer. Koritzinsky vehemently opposed any notion that his party could collaborate with the Liberal Party, claiming that the party had chosen it own path, a path "to suffer a slow and beautiful death in Norwegian politics". Optimism within the party had been able to manifest itself within the weeks before the election, with then Party Secretary Erik Solheim
believing that the 1985 election could be the party's best election yet.
When the results were announced, the Christian Democratic Party chairman Kjell Magne Bondevik
told the press; "If the Labour Party had supported the electoral reform, the socialists would have had a majority in the Storting". Koritzinsky, when replying Bondevik's statement, said; "It is obvious that the lack of cooperation may have ruined the chance for a new socialist government", further claiming that he and his party had been open for cooperation all along with both the Liberal Party and Labour Party. Odd Einar Dørum
, a Liberal Party member, also criticised the Labour Party's unwillingness to collaborate with other parties. While no socialist majority in parliament, most of members were pleased with the outcome, increasing from 4.9% to 5.4% nationwide and gaining two more seats in parliament.
, while the left-wing was led by ageing party politician Finn Gustavsen
, both were, according to Aftenposten
, likely candidates for the party chairmanship. On 27 August 1986 in Dagbladet
, Koritzinsky announced that he would step down as party chairman at the 1987 national convention, when asked why, he replied that he found it difficult to combine the chairmanship, his work in the Storting, and the extensive traveling which strained his family life. By August Solheim and Tora Haug were the most likely candidates for the position as Gustavsen had managed to become editor-in-chief of Ny Tid
, the party's newspaper.
During his tenure, Koritzinsky became a well-known and respected public figure
, however, several leading Socialist Left Party members were discontent with his leadership style, some even complaing that "he was not clever enough" to lead the party. In self-defense Koritzinsky stated that he himself believed he had received criticism for his unusual working methods, explaining further that during his party chairmanship he had been worried that leading members had concentrated much power in their own hands. At the 1986 national convention, the party again tried to improve its relations with the Labour Party, but this time, the Socialist Left Party would only collaborate with them if they moved more to the left. They were certain this could happen considering that 39 percent of Labour Party members in a recent measurement poll said the Socialist Left Party was the second closest party to them in political views and policies.
Because of the close race between Solheim and Haug, several members sought a compromise by trying to persuade Koritzinsky to extend his chairmanship two more years, until the next national convention. When this proved unfruitful, others tried to persuade Kvanmo to run for the chairmanship; Kvanmo rejected the offer. On 2 March 1987 Solheim beat Haug's candidacy, and became the party's new chairman.
figure, Jan Davidsen
, from the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions
, claiming that higher taxes would help the municipalities
and counties
. The party later stated that the sitting government had weakened its position after handling Norway's national budget with the Progress Party
.
Socialist Left Party (Norway)
The Socialist Left Party or SV, is a Norwegian left-wing political party. At one point one of the smallest parties in Parliament, it became the fourth-largest political party in Norway for the first time in the 2001 parliamentary election, and has been so ever since...
or "SV," founded in 1975, shows a long-term rise in political influence. The SV's rise has resulted in part from its emergence from older leftist
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
parties, most notably the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Norway)
Socialist People's Party was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party . SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/European Economic Community external policies of DNA. A group centered around the magazine Orientering had been expelled from DNA...
. After initial political setbacks in the 1970s, the party reorganized and regained support, particularly under Theo Koritzinsky
Theo Koritzinsky
Theodor "Theo" Koritzinsky is a Norwegian academic and politician for the Socialist Left Party.He was chairman of the Socialist Youth League from 1965 to 1966. He later joined the Socialist Left Party, and was their chairman from 1983 to 1987...
(1983–87) and Erik Solheim
Erik Solheim
Erik Solheim is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party . He holds two posts in the current Norwegian cabinet, and carries the title Minister of the Environment and Minister of Development Cooperation...
(1987–97). Support dropped in the election of 1997
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1997
A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 15 September 1997. Before the election, Prime Minister Thorbjørn Jagland of the Labour Party, issued the 36.9 ultimatum declaring that the government would step down unless it gained 36.9% of the vote, the percentage gained...
but rose again by the 21st Century, thanks to the party's position as the only sizeable party left of Norway's Labour Party. Further helping the party's rise was Labour's move further to the right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
under Jens Stoltenberg
Jens Stoltenberg
is a Norwegian politician, leader of the Norwegian Labour Party and the current Prime Minister of Norway. Having assumed office on 17 October 2005, Stoltenberg previously served as Prime Minister from 2000 to 2001....
. By 2005, the Socialist Left Party had joined Norway's governing Red-Green Coalition with the Labour and Centre
Centre Party (Norway)
The Centre Party is a centrist and agrarian political party in Norway, founded in 1920. The Centre Party's policy is not based on any of the major ideologies of the 19th and 20th century, but has a focus on maintaining decentralised economic development and political decision-making.From its...
parties: Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen is a Norwegian socialist politician and was the Minister of Finance from 17 October 2005 until 20 October 2009. She is now the Minister of Education in Stoltenberg's second cabinet....
is the current leader.
Socialist Electoral League (1973–75)
| Year | Vote % | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1973 -Results:¹A coalition of the Socialist People's Party , the Communist Party of Norway , and anti-European Economic Community individuals from the Labour Party. The coalition evolved into the Socialist Left Party in 1975.... |
11.2% | Parliament |
After losing all of its parliamentary seats in the 1969 parliamentary election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1969
The 1969 election proved to be one of the closest ones in Norwegian history. The only leftist party to win seats, the Labour Party, got 74 seats, while the right-wing parties got 76 seats. When counting the results, people started worrying that the two sides would be evenly split with 75 seats...
, the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Norway)
Socialist People's Party was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party . SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/European Economic Community external policies of DNA. A group centered around the magazine Orientering had been expelled from DNA...
sought to create an election coalition between various left-wing parties. After previously being sceptical of working with the Communist Party of Norway
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...
, the party eventually became a member of the coalition along with the Democratic Socialists - AIK
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community was an internal organized opposition within the Norwegian Labour Party. AIK was founded in January 1972, ahead of the plebiscite on joining the European Economic Community...
and various non-party aligned independent socialists. Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen is a Norwegian politician. He was chairman of the Communist Party of Norway from 1965 to 1975, when he resigned from his position, left the party and joined the Socialist Left Party . He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1973 to 1977, representing Hedmark.-References:...
, the then leader of the Communist Party said the members who met up at the party's national convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
unanimously elected "yes" to be a member of the coalition, which would later go by the name of the Socialist Electoral League.
The four leading members of the coalition, were Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen was a Norwegian socialist politician active from 1945 to the late 1970s. He was noted for his uncompromising style and willingness to take contrarian stands....
, Berge Furre
Berge Furre
Berge Ragnar Furre is a Norwegian historian, theologian and politician for the Socialist Left Party.-Early life and career:...
(both from the Socialist People's Party), Berit Ås
Berit Ås
Berit Ås is a Norwegian politician, professor of social psychology, and feminist. She was the first leader of the Socialist Left Party and served as a Member of Parliament 1973–1977. She was also a deputy member of parliament 1969–1973 and 1977–1981...
(from AIK) and Larsen (from the Communist Party). Furre and Ås, underlined that the three parties were still operating independently in 1973, while Larsen was very pleased with the outcome, citing that the main object of the communist party was to "unite all socialist parties" to one joint cause. The coalition also stressed the issue that they did not want to create a joint platform for the three parties, claiming it to be un-important for their image. During a September meeting, Gustavsen was elected parliamentary leader
Parliamentary leader
A parliamentary leader is political title given in various countries to lead a caucus in a legislative body, whether it be the countries respective parliaments or provincial legislature...
for the coalition, with Larsen og Ås being elected to the group board. It was decided that Torild Skard
Torild Skard
Torild Skard is a Norwegian psychologist and researcher, feminist, politician for the Socialist Left Party, civil servant and former high-ranking United Nations official . She served as a Member of Parliament, President of its upper chamber and Deputy Chair of the Standing Committee on Justice...
would seek the position as President of the Storting. Roald Halvorsen
Roald Halvorsen
Roald Halvorsen was a Norwegian typographer, Communist Party politician and resistance member from World War II....
from the Communist Party, was elected Genereal Secretary of the coalition. After the meeting, the party sought to build a closer relationship with the Labour Party
Norwegian Labour Party
The Labour Party is a social-democratic political party in Norway. It is the senior partner in the current Norwegian government as part of the Red-Green Coalition, and its leader, Jens Stoltenberg, is the current Prime Minister of Norway....
, and said they would support a Labour run minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
.
Communist Party and founding (1975)
By late 1975, the majority of the Communist Party members were against dissolving the party to join the ranks of what would become the Socialist Left. Reidar T. LarsenReidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen is a Norwegian politician. He was chairman of the Communist Party of Norway from 1965 to 1975, when he resigned from his position, left the party and joined the Socialist Left Party . He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1973 to 1977, representing Hedmark.-References:...
, the party leader at that time, supported dissolving the party, while Deputy Leader
Deputy Leader
A deputy leader in the Westminster system is the second-in-command of a political party, behind the party leader. Deputy leaders often become deputy prime minister when their parties are elected to government. In opposition, deputy leaders often lead Question Time sessions when the party leader is...
Martin Gunnar Knudsen wanted the party to continue as a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. Signs before the election showed that the majority supported Knudsen. The media speculated that the faction led by Larsen would split from the party to join the ranks of the Socialist Left.
In the coalition chapter of Oslo, the Communist Party wanted Arne Jørgensen, editor-in-chief of Friheten
Friheten
Friheten is a biweekly newspaper, published by the Norwegian Communist Party .It was founded illegally in 1941, during the German occupation of Norway due to World War II. After the liberation in 1945, it emerged as the official party newspaper....
, to get the top position on the election list for the 1975 local elections
Norwegian local elections, 1975
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1975. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. This was also the first time ever county elections were held in...
. However, the majority of the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Norway)
Socialist People's Party was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party . SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/European Economic Community external policies of DNA. A group centered around the magazine Orientering had been expelled from DNA...
members of the Oslo chapter did not want him to top the list because of his background in Norwegian local politics. Socialist People's members stated that they had nothing against nominating Communist Party members, commenting that they had placed communist Karl Kromann on second place. Seeing that the Socialist People's Party, who had received most of the votes for coalition, had only received one of four of the political office positions for the coalition. Jørgensen lost the election for the first spot, instead he earned 11th place on the list, he lost his nomination to Socialist People's official, Fred Dunhaug. Parliamentary leader
Parliamentary leader
A parliamentary leader is political title given in various countries to lead a caucus in a legislative body, whether it be the countries respective parliaments or provincial legislature...
Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen was a Norwegian socialist politician active from 1945 to the late 1970s. He was noted for his uncompromising style and willingness to take contrarian stands....
officially endorsed Jørgensens candidacy during the national convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
in Trondheim
Trondheim
Trondheim , historically, Nidaros and Trondhjem, is a city and municipality in Sør-Trøndelag county, Norway. With a population of 173,486, it is the third most populous municipality and city in the country, although the fourth largest metropolitan area. It is the administrative centre of...
, saying he did not want to "split the coalition", which in-turn would wreck his plan of uniting the coalition into a political party
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
. In May, the Oslo coalition chapter held a oral election for the top place on the election list, were Jørgensen received 189 votes, against Dunhaugs 192. Being that the winner won only with so few votes, they decided to hold a written election, this time Dunhaugs 197 votes while Jørgensen received 196. Following the results, twenty-one other communist candidates withdrew from their candidacy. This event damaged the unification process and inner struggle continued.
Another conflict between the Socialist People's Party and the Communist Party was the decision to merge the two party papers, Friheten and Orientering to found a new one. However, Larsen rejected this offer, he instead wanted the two papers to maintain in orbit even if the two parties merged. Berit Ås
Berit Ås
Berit Ås is a Norwegian politician, professor of social psychology, and feminist. She was the first leader of the Socialist Left Party and served as a Member of Parliament 1973–1977. She was also a deputy member of parliament 1969–1973 and 1977–1981...
felt that the party leadership had weakened its position, saying they had; "kicked the ball over to the communists". With the Communist Party rejecting the offer, Orientering was replaced by Ny Tid
Ny Tid
Ny Tid is Norway's only international news magazine, published in Newsweek-format every Friday. Politically, its history and editorial line is on the left side of the political spectrum and, until its recent sale, it was founded and owned by the Socialist Left Party of Norway...
.
While always clear where Larsen stood in the unification process, since his inception as leader of the Communist Party in 1969, he had been able to hold a strong party following. But his support started to waver when he wanted to put an end to the "pro-Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
line" the party had previously held during Emil Løvlien
Emil Løvlien
Emil H. Løvlien was a Norwegian forest worker, trade unionist and politician from Løten. He represented the Labour Party until the split in 1923, and the Communist Party thereafter...
. He had always held a vision of one single united left-wing party to the left of Labour, however this vision was not supported by the "communist hardliners". In the aftermath of the Communist Party national convention
National Convention
During the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, Larsen said his speech was "behind closed doors - and behind closed ears". He suffered a clear defeat at the party conference
Party conference
The terms party conference , political convention , and party congress usually refer to a general meeting of a political party. The conference is attended by certain delegates who represent the party membership...
, he along with his remaining supporters left the Communist Party to join the newly founded Socialist Left. Without the Communist Party, the Socialist People's Party and AIK formed the Socialist Left, seeing that the policies of the Socialist Left was nearly identical to the Socialist People's Party, it has often been seen as the party's direct successor.
Berit Ås (1975–76)
| Year | Vote % | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1975 Norwegian local elections, 1975 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1975. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. This was also the first time ever county elections were held in... |
5.5% 5.7% |
Municipal County |
Berit Ås
Berit Ås
Berit Ås is a Norwegian politician, professor of social psychology, and feminist. She was the first leader of the Socialist Left Party and served as a Member of Parliament 1973–1977. She was also a deputy member of parliament 1969–1973 and 1977–1981...
was elected as a compromise candidate at the so-called unification congress. During the 1975 local elections
Norwegian local elections, 1975
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1975. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. This was also the first time ever county elections were held in...
she became the party's most influential figure. However, her campaigning and her debating skills were criticised by both the Norwegian press and within her own party. During the election campaign, Ås wanted to become the party's representative at the leader debates, a position held by Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen was a Norwegian socialist politician active from 1945 to the late 1970s. He was noted for his uncompromising style and willingness to take contrarian stands....
, from the Socialist People's Party, since the 1960s. Dag og Tid
Dag og Tid
Dag og Tid is a national weekly newspaper in Norway that uses the Nynorsk standard of the Norwegian language. The newspaper was founded in 1962, is politically independent but editorially radical and focuses on culture and politics. The current editor is Svein Gjerdåker. Its circulation is...
described Ås' performance at the leader debates as "messy".
At the party's first national convention in November 1975 it was decided to maintain "a soft party line
Party line (politics)
In politics, the line or the party line is an idiom for a political party or social movement's canon agenda, as well as specific ideological elements specific to the organization's partisanship. The common phrase toeing the party line describes a person who speaks in a manner that conforms to his...
" towards the remaining Communist Party members still active in the Socialist Left Party. However, they did urge the remaining pro-Communist Party communists to leave the party. Rune Fredh
Rune Fredh
Rune Fredh is a Norwegian politician who was Party Secretary of the Socialist Electoral League and later the Socialist Left Party from 1973-1977.- Early life and career :...
, who had supported Larsen in the Communist Party, called the situation "insane". He retained the belief that the Larsen, and the remaining communists, would continue to fight for communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
.
After experiencing what many observers called a "bad" election in 1976, a national convention was held early in 1976. During her short tenure, Ås lost all trust amongst party members. Several leading members were calling Berge Furre
Berge Furre
Berge Ragnar Furre is a Norwegian historian, theologian and politician for the Socialist Left Party.-Early life and career:...
to take over as party Chairman. However, early in the nomination process, there were rumours that the party AIK-Communist wing would establish a united front against former Socialist People's Party members. No factions, or any party notables, supported, or announced their support for Ås' reelection. It was decided at the convention that Socialist Left Party members could only be members of one party at the time, which ment that the remaining communists members had to chose between the Socialist Left Party and the Communist Party. Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen is a Norwegian politician. He was chairman of the Communist Party of Norway from 1965 to 1975, when he resigned from his position, left the party and joined the Socialist Left Party . He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1973 to 1977, representing Hedmark.-References:...
and Fredh, the party's Party Secretary, told the conventions delegates that "the road the Communist Party is following is from now on its own". Furre was elected as party chairman at this convention with little or no opposition against him.
On the election list for the 1977 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1977
-Results:...
Ås became the party's second candidate in Oslo for a seat in the Storting – Ås lost first place to Stein Ørnhøi
Stein Ørnhøi
Stein Ørnhøi is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party, he was the last party leader of the Socialist People's Party of Norway....
. Because of the party's internal difficulties, its electoral base was greatly weakened in 1977, only one Socialist Left candidate from Oslo won a seat in the Storting, and nationwide, only two party candidates won a seat to the Storting.
Early leadership and internal strife (1976–77)
Berge FurreBerge Furre
Berge Ragnar Furre is a Norwegian historian, theologian and politician for the Socialist Left Party.-Early life and career:...
, previously unofficially known as the Socialist People's Party
Socialist People's Party (Norway)
Socialist People's Party was a splinter group of the Norwegian Labour Party . SF was principally dissatisfied with the pro-NATO/European Economic Community external policies of DNA. A group centered around the magazine Orientering had been expelled from DNA...
's "crown prince", became party chairman following the feud between Ås and Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen was a Norwegian socialist politician active from 1945 to the late 1970s. He was noted for his uncompromising style and willingness to take contrarian stands....
over who would represent the party during the 1975 local elections
Norwegian local elections, 1975
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1975. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently. This was also the first time ever county elections were held in...
. Gustavsen resigned from his position as parliamentary leader
Parliamentary leader
A parliamentary leader is political title given in various countries to lead a caucus in a legislative body, whether it be the countries respective parliaments or provincial legislature...
as early signs indicated that he did not have the full support of the party's Election Committee. The party, which suffered several after shocks after its founding, was in a oranisational mess. Verdens Gang speculated that the rule of (e.g. the party chairman) would be replaced by a troika, a collective leadership, led by Furre (from the Socialist People's Party) as party chairman, Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen
Reidar T. Larsen is a Norwegian politician. He was chairman of the Communist Party of Norway from 1965 to 1975, when he resigned from his position, left the party and joined the Socialist Left Party . He was a member of the Parliament of Norway from 1973 to 1977, representing Hedmark.-References:...
(from the Communist Party
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...
) as parliamentary leader and Ås (from Democratic Socialists – AIK
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community
Information Committee of the Labour Movement against Norwegian membership in the European Community was an internal organized opposition within the Norwegian Labour Party. AIK was founded in January 1972, ahead of the plebiscite on joining the European Economic Community...
) as deputy leader.
The establishment of the Socialist Left Party had several destabilising effects, such as weakening the party's voter base. Several opinion measurements indicated that several voters were, or thinking of, leaving the party or vote for the Labour Party in the 1977 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1977
-Results:...
. As the power struggle between the left-wing and right-wing factions worsened, Steinar Stjernø
Steinar Stjernø
Steinar Stjernø is a Norwegian academic.He obtained the mag.art. degree in Public Administration and Organizational Theory from the University of Bergen in 1971. He worked as a researcher at the Norwegian State College of Local Government Administration and Social Work from 1971 to 1978, and...
was accused of trying to expel party's the social democratic-wing (e.g. the right-wing faction). However, Sternjø called the rumours "absurd" – the reason for the accusation was that Stjernø wanted to create a "new and radical alternative for the Norwegian working class". At the national convention were Ås stepped down as party chairwoman, the party had not succeeded to make itself into a viable option for the common voter. Furre told the convention's delegates that the party would be able to win over voters, and take several from the Labour Party, when, and if, the internal situation stabilised itself. Another reason, according to Furre, was that Odvar Nordli
Odvar Nordli
is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1976 to 1981.Nordli grew up in Tangen in Stange, Hedmark. After World War II he served in the Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany, part of the Allied forces occupying post-war Germany...
's Cabinet
Nordli's Cabinet
Nordli's Cabinet governed Norway between 15 January 1976 and 4 February 1981. The Labour Party cabinet was led by Odvar Nordli. It had the following composition:-Cabinet members:...
was moving the Labour Party further to a centre
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
. It caused some controversy that two of the newly elected Members of Parliament had been convicted for treason
Legal purge in Norway after World War II
When the occupation of Norway ended in May 1945, several thousand Norwegians and foreign citizens were tried and convicted for various acts that the occupying powers sanctioned...
for collaborating with the Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Electoral activities (1977–81)
| Year | Vote % | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1977 -Results:... |
4.2% | Parliament |
| 1979 Norwegian local elections, 1979 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1979. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:... |
4.1% 4,4% |
Municipal County |
| 1981 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1981 -Results:... |
4.9% | Parliament |
Believing that the Labour Party had moved further to the political centre
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
, Berge Furre
Berge Furre
Berge Ragnar Furre is a Norwegian historian, theologian and politician for the Socialist Left Party.-Early life and career:...
responded by stating that the Socialist Left Party could only support a left-oriented minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
. Labour Party Secretary Ivar Leveraas
Ivar Leveraas
Ivar Leveraas is a Norwegian civil servant and politician for the Labour Party.He was born in Haugesund. A mechanic by education, he worked as a secretary in Arbeidernes Opplysningsforbund from 1970 to 1975. From 1975 to 1986 he was the secretary of the Labour Party...
responded negatively to Furre's comment, saying "It isn't appropriate for the Labour Party to sit down together with the Socialist Left to discuss our political program and conditions for support, like Berg Furre requires".
Late in 1977, it was known that both Furre and Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen was a Norwegian socialist politician active from 1945 to the late 1970s. He was noted for his uncompromising style and willingness to take contrarian stands....
had revealed classified information during an open meeting in the People's House of Oslo on 22 August 1977, after threatening to do so. When this got know, the parliament established the Schei Committee
Schei Committee
The Schei Committee was a committee named by the Government of Norway to look into the organization of municipalities in Norway post-World War II.It convened in 1946, and its formal name was...
which investigated the two of them. Not knowing what to do, representatives from Odelstinget voted in favour of shelving the case. 44 voted for, while 47 voted against prosecuting the two of them. When the results were made official, the media speculated the results was some kind of "punishment" against party since the incident proved that the party was unablele to protect valuable
information which could have jeopardized Norway's security interests.
After having what Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang , generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper...
(VG) described as a "disastrous election", with the party losing fourteen of their sixteen seats in the Storting, the party discussed changing its election platform. The platform, which had changed little since the 1973 election
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1973
-Results:¹A coalition of the Socialist People's Party , the Communist Party of Norway , and anti-European Economic Community individuals from the Labour Party. The coalition evolved into the Socialist Left Party in 1975....
, was the center of a power struggle were some Socialist Left Party members were calling removing the peace paragraf which called for the disbandment of the Norwegian military and the removal of foreign military bases located domestically. Several leading members opposed this paragraf, and Furre and Gustavsen, both of who came from the moderate camp, wanted to make the paragraf a bit more moderate, which they succeeded at in the 1977 Socialist Left Party national convention. In the election's aftermath, then Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Norway
The Prime Minister of Norway is the political leader of Norway and the Head of His Majesty's Government. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Stortinget , to their political party, and ultimately the...
Odvar Nordli
Odvar Nordli
is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. He was Prime Minister of Norway from 1976 to 1981.Nordli grew up in Tangen in Stange, Hedmark. After World War II he served in the Independent Norwegian Brigade Group in Germany, part of the Allied forces occupying post-war Germany...
from the Labour Party, criticised the Socialist Left for being "capitalists" who supported right-wing
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
policies, and further claimed that the Labour Party was the only "anti-capitalist" alternative left.
In the wake of the 1979 local elections
Norwegian local elections, 1979
Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1979. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:...
, the internal struggle continued, with Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang
Verdens Gang , generally known under the abbreviation VG, is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper...
claiming the situation inside the party was like a "civil war". When asked about the situation, Furre controversially claimed that there had never been so much stability within the party, considering that the mainpolicy issues had been solved during the 1979 Socialist Left Party national convention. The party's electoral base became even smaller during the 1979 election, with the winning 4.1% in the municipal and 4.4% in the county elections respectively. At the national convention of 1983, the party was able to greatly stabilise itself. The national convention, with the majority of the delegates voting in favour, adopted socialism
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
as the party's most important campaign promise during the election. Hanna Kvanmo
Hanna Kvanmo
Hanna Kristine Kvanmo was a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party...
, parliamentary leader
Parliamentary leader
A parliamentary leader is political title given in various countries to lead a caucus in a legislative body, whether it be the countries respective parliaments or provincial legislature...
for the Socialist Left Party, claimed in the convention's aftermath that for the first time in the party's history there was a "consensus in most areas". Furre was again reelected as party Chairman, while Hilde Bojer and Torbjørn Dahl became the party's first and second deputy leader
Deputy Leader
A deputy leader in the Westminster system is the second-in-command of a political party, behind the party leader. Deputy leaders often become deputy prime minister when their parties are elected to government. In opposition, deputy leaders often lead Question Time sessions when the party leader is...
respectively. The Socialist Left Party was able to increase its voting share with 0.7 percent, from a meager 4.2 to 4.9 percent nationwide, during the 1981 election to the Storting
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1981
-Results:...
.
Resignation (1981–83)
Beginning in 1981, Erik SolheimErik Solheim
Erik Solheim is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party . He holds two posts in the current Norwegian cabinet, and carries the title Minister of the Environment and Minister of Development Cooperation...
, the party's Party Secretary, became very critical of the party's left-wing faction. He claimed that these radicals contributed nothing to the party, and were more interested in being against everything, then supporting any policies. Writing for the party newspaper Ny Tid
Ny Tid
Ny Tid is Norway's only international news magazine, published in Newsweek-format every Friday. Politically, its history and editorial line is on the left side of the political spectrum and, until its recent sale, it was founded and owned by the Socialist Left Party of Norway...
Solheim criticised the party's support for, what he claimed to be "extreme", progressive taxation, and stated he wanted to give the party a new public image. Another accusation of his was that the party had become conservative, e.g. objecting to change, and further claimed that there had not been any major changes to the party's policies since its establishment in 1975. Many members supported Solheim's criticism, and Solheim's criticism led to a renewed internal struggle within the Socialist Left Party between the right-wing and left-wing factions. Several leading party officials, such as Furre, agreed with Solheim's criticism. Furre shared severals of Solheim's views, and told the press that the party had discussed the same-old topics over-and-over again for several years.
Furre announced his resignation as party chairman early in 1983. None of the party's leading members of the time, most notably Hanna Kvanmo
Hanna Kvanmo
Hanna Kristine Kvanmo was a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party...
, Per Maurseth
Per Maurseth
Per Maurseth is a Norwegian historian. He lectured at the University of Oslo from 1971, and was appointed professor at the University of Trondheim from 1982...
and Hilde Bojer, sought the party's chairmanship. Because of this Theo Koritzinsky
Theo Koritzinsky
Theodor "Theo" Koritzinsky is a Norwegian academic and politician for the Socialist Left Party.He was chairman of the Socialist Youth League from 1965 to 1966. He later joined the Socialist Left Party, and was their chairman from 1983 to 1987...
was elected the party's new chairman at the 1983 Socialist Left Party national convention. The majority in the party's Election Committee had officially endorsed Koritzinsky before the 1983 national convention.
Electoral success (1983–85)
| Year | Vote % | Type |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 Norwegian local elections, 1983 Country-wide local elections for seats in municipality and county councils were held throughout Norway in 1983. For most places this meant that two elections, the municipal elections and the county elections ran concurrently.-Municipal elections:... |
5.1% 5.3% |
Municipal County |
| 1985 Norwegian parliamentary election, 1985 A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 9 September 1985.-Results:... |
5.5% | Parliament |
The Socialist Left Party initiated the Action Plan at the 1983 national convention which supported an increase in public spending on the elderly and fix what they called "serious issues with the welfare state
Welfare state
A welfare state is a "concept of government in which the state plays a key role in the protection and promotion of the economic and social well-being of its citizens. It is based on the principles of equality of opportunity, equitable distribution of wealth, and public responsibility for those...
". Theo Koritzinsky
Theo Koritzinsky
Theodor "Theo" Koritzinsky is a Norwegian academic and politician for the Socialist Left Party.He was chairman of the Socialist Youth League from 1965 to 1966. He later joined the Socialist Left Party, and was their chairman from 1983 to 1987...
wanted to increase the pension up to at least 40,000 NOK
Norwegian krone
The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...
s, or at most, to 50,000 NOKs. The Action Plan was heavily promoted, and Koritzinsky tried to collaborate with both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party
Conservative Party of Norway
The Conservative Party is a Norwegian political party. The current leader is Erna Solberg. The party was since the 1920s consistently the second largest party in Norway, but has been surpassed by the growth of the Progress Party in the late 1990s and 2000s...
to get it passed in the Storting. Another worry of Koritzinsky and the party was that, in their eyes, the public sector
Public sector
The public sector, sometimes referred to as the state sector, is a part of the state that deals with either the production, delivery and allocation of goods and services by and for the government or its citizens, whether national, regional or local/municipal.Examples of public sector activity range...
had begun to decay
Decay
-Science and technlogy:* Bit decay, in computing* Software decay, in computing* Distance decay, in geography* Exponential decay, the decrease of a value in proportion to its value* Decay time , in electronics...
. The crippling of the public sector, according to the party, led to increased unemployment
Unemployment
Unemployment , as defined by the International Labour Organization, occurs when people are without jobs and they have actively sought work within the past four weeks...
within the sector.
During his campaign, Koritzinsky made a habit of campaigning outside major cities. In an interview with the Norwegian News Agency
Norwegian News Agency
The Norwegian News Agency is a Norwegian press agency and wire service that serves many of the largest Norwegian media outlets. It also cooperates closely with the photo agency Scanpix, in which it has a 50% ownership share.NTB was founded in 1867...
, Koritzinsky was amazed of the support he was able to gather, and even claimed of "a renewed interest" for the party. While disappointed with the initial results in the 1983 local elections, Koritzinsky was pleased with the overall outcome of both the Socialist Left Party and the Labour Party, but was worried of the increased interests right-wing parties, especially the Progress Party
Progress Party (Norway)
The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
.
In the aftermath of the American invasion of Grenada
Invasion of Grenada
The Invasion of Grenada, codenamed Operation Urgent Fury, was a 1983 United States-led invasion of Grenada, a Caribbean island nation with a population of about 100,000 located north of Venezuela. Triggered by a military coup which had ousted a four-year revolutionary government, the invasion...
, the party organised protests in Oslo against the war. Koritzinsky, during the protests, accusing the right of being slaves to the United States Government. Over 200,000 demonstrators attended the protests, with many Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
n interest groups being vocal of their supports for the demonstrations. Koritzinsky criticised western diplomacy against the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
, citing it as unfair that the First World
First World
The concept of the First World first originated during the Cold War, where it was used to describe countries that were aligned with the United States. These countries were democratic and capitalistic. After the fall of the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War, the term "First World" took on a...
only denounces military actions when the Soviet Union or the communist world participate, or lead, them, while remaining passive if the United States participates, or leads, one. At the 1983 national convention, the majority of the delegates sought to collaborate with the Labour Party in the 1985 parliamentary elections
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1985
A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 9 September 1985.-Results:...
. Gro Harlem Brundtland
Gro Harlem Brundtland
Gro Harlem Brundtland is a Norwegian Social democratic politician, diplomat, and physician, and an international leader in sustainable development and public health. She served three terms as Prime Minister of Norway , and has served as the Director General of the World Health Organization...
, the Labour chairwoman at the time, told the press that she was considering a proposal by the Socialist Left Party that the two parties make joint-lists during the elections. In another press conference, Koritzinsky told the press that he was worried that if a election pact was not established between the two parties, the "bourgeois right-wing parties" would create their own", and maybe even "win" the election if the left did not respond properly.
Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions
The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have more than 850,000 members of a Norwegian population of 4.8 million...
(NCTU). However, Koritzinsky was not the only one promoting this idea; the Labour Party and Communist Party
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...
had done so for years. While supporting his original goal of enlarging the NCTU, Koritzinsky also recognized that there existed good reasons for teachers to work in traditional organisations – Koritzinsky was previously a member of a local trade union before being elected party chairman. On another subject, Koritzinsky favored a direct election
Direct election
Direct election is a term describing a system of choosing political officeholders in which the voters directly cast ballots for the person, persons or political party that they desire to see elected. The method by which the winner or winners of a direct election are chosen depends upon the...
on the question of arming Norway with nuclear weapons, or to lett foreign powers settle nuclear weapons on Norwegian soil.
When Stein Ørnhøi
Stein Ørnhøi
Stein Ørnhøi is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party, he was the last party leader of the Socialist People's Party of Norway....
retired from active politics in 1984, Koritzinsky was seen as a likely candidate to replace Ørnhøi in the Storting, but, as time showed, other members were also interested in the Storting seat, most notably prominent Oslo City Councillor
County council (Norway)
A County Council is the highest governing body of the county municipalities in Norway. The county council sets the scope of the county municipal activity. The council is led by a chairman or county mayor...
Per Maurseth
Per Maurseth
Per Maurseth is a Norwegian historian. He lectured at the University of Oslo from 1971, and was appointed professor at the University of Trondheim from 1982...
and veteran politician Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen was a Norwegian socialist politician active from 1945 to the late 1970s. He was noted for his uncompromising style and willingness to take contrarian stands....
. Early speculations were highly skeptical of Gustavsen's candidacy. The Socialist Left Party Oslo's nomination committee was split between Koritzinsky and Maurseth – they won 12 and 11 votes respectively, Gustavsen won only one vote. As it turned out, Koritzinsky became Socialist Left Party's first candidate for the Storting, while Maurseth became second, winning a vote over Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen
Kristin Halvorsen is a Norwegian socialist politician and was the Minister of Finance from 17 October 2005 until 20 October 2009. She is now the Minister of Education in Stoltenberg's second cabinet....
for second place. Gustavsen, as it turned out, was not even placed on the list.
At the national convention of 1985, Koritzinsky told the delegates that "The voters accepted us as part of the labor movement for a long time ago. This is proven by the fact that among one third of Labor voters consider the Socialist Left Party as their second voting preference. However, the Labor Party leadership has not accepted us a political force, and its clear to us, and them, that more voters will take us seriously if the Labor Party starts treating us with mutual respect. In it there is a political gain". Kvanmo quickly corrected Koritzinsky; from "in it there is a political gain" to "it may be a political gain". She further stated that the party's most realistic goal was not collaborate with the Labour Party, but to increase the party's voter base up to "five to six percent". At the national convention, Koritzinsky wanted the party to promote itself as a "Red-Green alternative" to the Labour Party, an idea which was had broad support within the party. One month after the national convention, Koritzinsky along with officials from the International Department of the Socialist Left Party visited West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
to discuss green politics
Green politics
Green politics is a political ideology that aims for the creation of an ecologically sustainable society rooted in environmentalism, social liberalism, and grassroots democracy...
with members of the Green Party
Alliance '90/The Greens
Alliance '90/The Greens is a green political party in Germany, formed from the merger of the German Green Party and Alliance 90 in 1993. Its leaders are Claudia Roth and Cem Özdemir...
.
In June 1985, the Socialist Left rejected an offer made jointly by the Communist Party of Norway
Communist Party of Norway
The Communist Party of Norway is a political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. It was formed in 1923, following a split in the Norwegian Labour Party. The party played an important role in the resistance to German occupation during the Second World War, and experienced a brief...
, the Workers' Communist Party
Workers' Communist Party (Norway)
The Workers' Communist Party was a Norwegian communist party . AKP was a maoist party and one of two communist parties in Norway; the other was the older Communist Party of Norway which has remained pro-Soviet. The relationship between the two parties was characterized by strong hostility.AKP was...
and the Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance
Red Electoral Alliance was an alliance of left-wing groups formed into a Norwegian political party to promote revolutionary far-left ideals into the Norwegian parliament...
(the electoral organisation of the Workers' Communist Party) of establishing and electoral coalition in the 1985 elections to the Storting
Norwegian parliamentary election, 1985
A general election to the Storting, the parliament of Norway, was held on 9 September 1985.-Results:...
. Instead, Koritzinsky continued with his plans in establishing some sort of electoral collaboration with the Labour Party by encouraging all local party chapters to begin formal contact with their Labour Party counterpart. However, the Labour Party still showed no great interest in a coalition; the party neither rejected or accepted Koritzinsky's offer. Koritzinsky vehemently opposed any notion that his party could collaborate with the Liberal Party, claiming that the party had chosen it own path, a path "to suffer a slow and beautiful death in Norwegian politics". Optimism within the party had been able to manifest itself within the weeks before the election, with then Party Secretary Erik Solheim
Erik Solheim
Erik Solheim is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party . He holds two posts in the current Norwegian cabinet, and carries the title Minister of the Environment and Minister of Development Cooperation...
believing that the 1985 election could be the party's best election yet.
When the results were announced, the Christian Democratic Party chairman Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik
Kjell Magne Bondevik is a Norwegian Lutheran minister and politician . He served as Prime Minister of Norway from 1997 to 2000, and from 2001 to 2005, making him Norway's longest serving non-Labour Party Prime Minister since World War II...
told the press; "If the Labour Party had supported the electoral reform, the socialists would have had a majority in the Storting". Koritzinsky, when replying Bondevik's statement, said; "It is obvious that the lack of cooperation may have ruined the chance for a new socialist government", further claiming that he and his party had been open for cooperation all along with both the Liberal Party and Labour Party. Odd Einar Dørum
Odd Einar Dørum
Odd Einar Dørum is a Norwegian politician and former member of parliament, representing The Liberal Party.Dørum was Minister of Transport and Communications from 17 October 1997 to 15 March 1999, then Minister of Justice until 3 March 2000. He was again Minister of Justice in the second government...
, a Liberal Party member, also criticised the Labour Party's unwillingness to collaborate with other parties. While no socialist majority in parliament, most of members were pleased with the outcome, increasing from 4.9% to 5.4% nationwide and gaining two more seats in parliament.
Leaving office (1985–87)
By the mid-1980s, several key party members wanted to move the party closer to the center of Norwegian politics, and make the party a viable, and openm social democratic alternative on the left. Many supported the idea, and believed it would expand the party's electoral base. The party's right-wing faction, led by Erik SolheimErik Solheim
Erik Solheim is a Norwegian politician for the Socialist Left Party . He holds two posts in the current Norwegian cabinet, and carries the title Minister of the Environment and Minister of Development Cooperation...
, while the left-wing was led by ageing party politician Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen
Finn Gustavsen was a Norwegian socialist politician active from 1945 to the late 1970s. He was noted for his uncompromising style and willingness to take contrarian stands....
, both were, according to Aftenposten
Aftenposten
Aftenposten is Norway's largest newspaper. It retook this position in 2010, taking it from the tabloid Verdens Gang which had been the largest newspaper for several decades. It is based in Oslo. The morning edition, which is distributed across all of Norway, had a circulation of 250,179 in 2007...
, likely candidates for the party chairmanship. On 27 August 1986 in Dagbladet
Dagbladet
Dagbladet is Norway's second largest tabloid newspaper, and the third largest newspaper overall with a circulation of 105,255 copies in 2009, 18,128 papers less than in 2008. The editor in chief is Lars Helle....
, Koritzinsky announced that he would step down as party chairman at the 1987 national convention, when asked why, he replied that he found it difficult to combine the chairmanship, his work in the Storting, and the extensive traveling which strained his family life. By August Solheim and Tora Haug were the most likely candidates for the position as Gustavsen had managed to become editor-in-chief of Ny Tid
Ny Tid
Ny Tid is Norway's only international news magazine, published in Newsweek-format every Friday. Politically, its history and editorial line is on the left side of the political spectrum and, until its recent sale, it was founded and owned by the Socialist Left Party of Norway...
, the party's newspaper.
During his tenure, Koritzinsky became a well-known and respected public figure
Public figure
Public figure is a legal term applied in the context of defamation actions as well as invasion of privacy. A public figure cannot base a lawsuit on incorrect harmful statements unless there is proof that the writer or publisher acted with actual malice...
, however, several leading Socialist Left Party members were discontent with his leadership style, some even complaing that "he was not clever enough" to lead the party. In self-defense Koritzinsky stated that he himself believed he had received criticism for his unusual working methods, explaining further that during his party chairmanship he had been worried that leading members had concentrated much power in their own hands. At the 1986 national convention, the party again tried to improve its relations with the Labour Party, but this time, the Socialist Left Party would only collaborate with them if they moved more to the left. They were certain this could happen considering that 39 percent of Labour Party members in a recent measurement poll said the Socialist Left Party was the second closest party to them in political views and policies.
Because of the close race between Solheim and Haug, several members sought a compromise by trying to persuade Koritzinsky to extend his chairmanship two more years, until the next national convention. When this proved unfruitful, others tried to persuade Kvanmo to run for the chairmanship; Kvanmo rejected the offer. On 2 March 1987 Solheim beat Haug's candidacy, and became the party's new chairman.
Opposition (1997–2005)
With most media believing that it would be close to impossible for the two parties to collaborate, the Socialist Left and the Labour Party managed to negotiate a tax settlement. This settlement was met with much criticism from leading trade unionTrade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
figure, Jan Davidsen
Jan Davidsen
Jan Davidsen is the leader of Fagforbundet.-References:...
, from the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions
Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions
The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions is a national trade union center, decidedly the largest and probably the most influential umbrella organization of labour unions in Norway. The 21 national unions affiliated to the LO have more than 850,000 members of a Norwegian population of 4.8 million...
, claiming that higher taxes would help the municipalities
Municipalities of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...
and counties
Counties of Norway
Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties . The counties form the primary first-level subdivisions of Norway and are further divided into 430 municipalities...
. The party later stated that the sitting government had weakened its position after handling Norway's national budget with the Progress Party
Progress Party (Norway)
The Progress Party is a political party in Norway which identifies as conservative liberal and libertarian. The media has described it as conservative and right-wing populist...
.