Norway
Norway is a high-performing parliamentary democracy. The country hosts an advanced, competitive economy that is marked both by a vibrant private sector and a large state sector that penetrates some of the country’s most important industries, including petroleum. Additionally, while not a member state of the European Union, Norway is part of the single market and the Schengen area. In terms of democratic performance over the past five years, Global State of Democracy Indices (GSoDI) data indicates a decline in Impartial Administration, in part due to recent cases of politicians being implicated in the improper use of public funds. There have also been declines in Access to Justice and Civil Liberties. Norway is high performing in Gender Equality, and women have high levels of educational attainment and labour force participation due to the country’s student financing, parental leave and affordable childcare systems.
Norwegian political culture is based on core values like egalitarianism and corporatism. This, in combination with a long tradition of coalition government formation, has resulted in a low level of political polarization and a consensual form of decision-making that emphasizes the inclusion of a wide range of interests above majority rule. Much in line with other Nordic countries, recently, Norway’s historically stable formula of the same five parties in parliament has been replaced by further party (and issue) plurality. Yet, Norway is also rather distinctive vis-à-vis other Nordic countries: it is a major producer of oil and gas. Returns from this sector have allowed Norway to build the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. This has become a major asset for financing the welfare state - even if limited by strict fiscal policies in its spending. Yet, the Oil Fund has also become the site of growing political tension as roughly half of Norwegians have come to conceive of climate change as the country’s biggest political challenge. Consequently, there has been a growing acceptance of the fact that authorities must search for a more renewable basis for the country’s future. Beyond climate-related concerns, disapproval of the limited social spending from oil funds has further been a driver of populism among lower-income groups. Such populist sentiments, even if currently in decline, have come to structure debates on both taxation and (later) immigration. Outside of such issue-areas, national political competition has been marked by tension between central and local governance, and issues such as the health service, pension reform, growing social differences, security, and the geopolitics of Arctic oil exploration.
Norwegian politics is generally characterized by cautious and incremental measures. Looking ahead, it will be important to watch Fundamental Rights and Civil Liberties, especially with regard to the disadvantaged position faced by some of Norway’s national minorities – most prominently, the Roma people – in the labour market and in access to education and cultural resources. Notably, there are recent action plans and high levels of funding for projects involving minorities. Beyond this group, there has been growing tension between the state’s renewable energy strategy and indigenous rights. This has particularly concerned the building of wind power projects and zero-emission copper mines on the ancestral lands of Sámi people, with the Supreme Court ruling that two such wind farms violated Sámi rights. Given that Norway is transitioning away from oil-gas exploration, it will be important to watch this issue area. In addition, while Norway has low economic inequality globally, its rise in the past ten years has sparked concern. In terms of Gender Equality, Norway is weighing the adoption of a consent-based definition of rape, which can lead to more stringent sexual violence provisions.
Monthly Event Reports
December 2023 | Parliament bans conversion therapy with a broad majority
Parliament voted to prohibit conversion therapy, which involves practices or procedures attempting to forcibly change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, with 85 MPs voting in favour, and 15 against. The amendments to the criminal code make conducting conversion therapy punishable by three years in prison (six years in case of a particularly serious violation). The legislation also criminalises the marketing or advertising of forms of conversion therapy, including medical or religious methods.
September 2023 | Labour party suffers first-time loss in local elections in 99 years
The results of the local elections show a shift towards more conservative local government. After more than a century, conservative opposition parties, including the right-wing anti-immigration Progress Party (FrP), came out ahead. The 11 September polls asked voters to elect representatives for local councils in 356 municipalities and 11 counties. The ruling centre-left Labour party lost ground, marking the first time the party did not place first in local elections since 1924. Labour placed second, declining from 24.9 per cent of the vote in 2019 to 21.7 per cent. The opposition centre-right Høyre won 25.9 per cent of the vote, up from 20.1 per cent in the 2019 local elections, even outperforming Labour in Oslo. FrP came in third on an anti-immigration platform, boosting its vote share from 8.3 per cent to 11.4 per cent. The turnout was 62.4 per cent, down from 64.7 per cent in 2019. A total of 42 per cent of candidates who stood in the election are women, according to Statistics Norway (a decrease of 0.7 percentage points compared to the 2019 election).
August 2023 | Data protection watchdog fines Meta over behavioural advertising
In August, the Norwegian Data Protection Authority’s temporary ban on Meta’s behavioural advertising went into effect, and the watchdog began fining Meta NOK 1,000,000 per day for non-compliance. The decision, taken in July, instituted a three-month ban on Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, from targeting users with behavioural advertising on its social media platforms, which track users’ online activity for marketing purposes. According to the Data Protection Authority, the decision seeks to safeguard the data protection rights of Norwegian users, where Meta fails to secure consent to process users’ behavioural data. Earlier in July, the European Court of Justice ruled that users visiting a platform cannot be construed to mean that the user manifestly makes sensitive data public, as grounds for permitting such data to be processed. Meta has filed a case with the Oslo District Court to grant a temporary injunction to halt the ban, and a decision is expected in September.
July 2023 | Parliament disciplinary committee launches conflict of interest probe into government
Opposition parties reached a quorum within Parliament’s disciplinary committee to initiate an investigation into the Norwegian government’s handling of a series of conflict of interest cases. Culture Minister Anette Trettebergstuen resigned, while Tonje Brenna remains in her post as Education Minister, after it became public at the end of June that they had both separately appointed friends to board positions for the state opera and for a Norwegian foundation, respectively. In July, Minister for Higher Education and Research Ola Borten Moe resigned over allegations he breached ethics rules by purchasing shares in defense company Kongsberg Gruppen immediately prior to participating in a meeting to discuss awarding the company’s subsidiary a lucrative government contract. Norway’s economic crime department, Økokrim, is mulling whether to open a full investigation into Moe’s purchase of shares while minister. The committee’s findings will be put to a vote in Parliament and can lead to a motion of no-confidence in the most severe case.
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