Progress Party (Norway)
From Free net encyclopedia
|
Image:Fremskrittspartiet Norway.png The Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet or Framstegspartiet, Frp) is a political party in Norway. It was founded on April 8, 1973 with a famous address held by the individualist and public speaker Anders Lange. The party adopted its current name in 1977. In the 2005 parliamentary elections, it was the second-largest party, with 22.1% of the votes and 37 seats (up from third-largest with 14.6% and 26 seats in the 2001 elections). The current chairman is Carl I. Hagen who, as representative of the largest opposition party, is now Vice President (vice speaker) of the parliament, the Storting.
History
Foundation
The founder, Anders Lange, intended the party to be more like a protest movement than a regular political party. The protest was directed against what was claimed to be an unacceptably high level of taxes, subsidies, and regulations, against government interventionism, and against the social democrat "nanny state". Template:Ref
It started under the name of Anders Lange's Party for strong reductions of taxes, charges and government intervention or the Anders Lange Party, or ALP.
The objective of Anders Lange was to remind the Conservative Party of Norway of its commitment to rightist values of individual liberty, civil society, and private property rights. According to Lange, the Conservative led government had pursued socialist policies that had resulting in a government too big, and the Conservative Party didn't seem to be bent on rolling back big government. On the contrary, he claimed the Conservative Party had increased taxes and had done nothing to make government smaller. Template:Ref
The first election, in 1973, gave Anders Lange 5%, and four seats in the Norwegian parliament.
The Hagen Era Begins
Following Lange, there was a brief series of party leaders, until Carl I. Hagen, after the party's poor result in the 1977 election, took control of the party in 1978:
- Anders Lange [1973 – 1974]
- Eivind Eckbo [1974 – 1975] (interim)
- Arve Lønnum [1975 – 1978]
- Carl I. Hagen [1978 – 2006] (the 2006 retreat announced in 2003)
| Year | Percent | Seats |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 5.0 | 4 |
| 1977 | 1.9 | – |
| 1981 | 4.5 | 4 |
| 1985 | 3.7 | 2 |
| 1989 | 13.0 | 22 |
| 1993 | 6.3 | 10 |
| 1997 | 15.3 | 25 |
| 2001 | 14.6 | 26 |
| 2005 | 22.1 | 38 |
Carl I. Hagen became the chairman of Frp in 1978, and has been practically uncontested. There has never been a really strong opposing candidate. Hagen has been determined to build up a strong party organizationTemplate:Ref, and to move his party into the mainstream of Norwegian politics. Under his leadership Frp has played an increasingly important role in the politics of Norway. Template:Fact
In the parliamentary election in 1989, the party obtained 13%, and became the third largest party in Norway. It started to receive some responsibility in local administrations, but was still mostly insignificant in that scope. In 1990, Peter Myhre, of Frp, became the mayor of Oslo.
Because of inner struggles, the 1993 election halved the party to 6.3% and 10 representatives. In 1994, four representatives of the "libertarian wing" broke out, formed an independent group in parliament, and founded another party the Fridemokratene.
In the 1997 election, Frp obtained 15.3%, and it returned to be the third largest party.
In the local election in 1999, the very popular local Progress-Party leader Terje Søviknes was elected mayor of Os. 20 municipalities got a deputy mayor from the Progress Party.
Expulsion of The Democrats
Before the 2001 election, Frp enjoyed a high level of popular support in 1999–2000, but its support fell back to 1997 levels in the actual election, following both internal turmoil (the then second vice-chairman of the party, Terje Søviknes, was involved in a sex scandal) and internal disagreements. Template:Fact This time, several populist local representatives in Oslo and some parliamentarians resigned from the party. Some "soloists", as they were called, where suspended, including Vidar Kleppe, who was suspended for two years, or expelled, as Jan Simonsen. The "populists" formed a party called The Democrats, with Vidar Kleppe as chairman and Jan Simonsen as vice-chairman.
Recent Elections
In the Norwegian parliamentary election, 2001, Frp lost the advance it had on polls, but maintained its position from the 1997 election, and got 14.6% and 26 members in the parliament.
The Progress party had run a campaign promising to unseat the Labour government of Jens Stoltenberg, and kept that promise by supporting the new minority government of Kjell Magne Bondevik, although the three parties in that coalition declined to govern together with the Progress party, saying that the political distance was too large. Template:Fact
In 2002, the Progress party advanced again in polls, and for a short while it even became the largest party, with a strong margin in December 2002.
The local election in 2003 was a breakthrough for the party as a political player in Norwegian municipalities. In 30 municipalities, the party gained more votes than any other, but it succeeded to elect the mayor only in 13 of these. The Progress Party has participated in local elections since 1975, but until 2003 the party has only gained the mayoral position twice. The Progress Party vote in Os—the only municipality that elected a Progress Party mayor in 1999—increased from 36.6% in 1999 to 45.7% in 2003. The party gained ground across the country, but more so in municipalities where the party had the mayor or the deputy mayorTemplate:Ref.
In 2003 Hagen declared that he was going to withdraw as chairman in 2006. His expected successor is the current vice-chairman, the economist Siv JensenTemplate:Ref.
Program
- The party's official program (in Norwegian) can be found at this Website.
Principles
The Progress Party declares itself to be liberalistic, built on Norwegian and western traditions and cultural heritages, with basis in a christian conception of life. Its main declared goal is a strong reduction in taxes, charges, and government interventionism.
- Society and Economy
- The Progress Party places highly in its program the right of the individual to decide about its own life and economy, and claims the individual is, together with the family and the right to own private property, the fundament of society. The party does not want the state to solve problems that can be handled better by individuals, private companies or organisations. It also proposes to increase taxation on consumption to compensate for reduced taxation on work, although it has given very high priority to reduction of gas taxes and supported the reduction of food taxes from 24% to 12%. It opposes a recently posed suggestion to raise the taxes by one percent, to 13%. Template:Fact
- Democracy
- The party suggests to introduce decentralisation and binding referenda (in Norway, the result of a referendum is not binding, even if in practice politicians follow their indications). Furthermore, it is for an abolition of the current laws that make a vote cast in a large Norwegian county more important than one cast in Oslo. Since it is considered an entity based on ethnicity, the party wants to abolish the Norwegian branch of the Sami parliament.
- Labour economics
- The party proposes a deregulation in the job market, so that laws shall not pose any limit on the type of contract that employer and employee want, except for safety and health requirements.
- Welfare State
- The Progress Party is not for a reduction of the welfare state, but wants to reorganize the way payment is distributed, to allow for competion and private production of such goods. Payment should follow the individual consumer of government financed welfare goods. The Progress Party has also long been known to be in favour of increased support for the elderly, that have become one of their main electoral groups.
- Ecology
- The Party has not had ecology as a main issue, but does maintain to be in favour of sustainable development.
Role of the State
The role of the state is considered to be limited to a few areas:
- Military
- With a close cooperation with NATO;
- Foreign policy
- Based on the protection of Norwegian interests, with closer cooperation with the United States and closer relationship with Israel, and abolition of state-financed help to third-world countries.
- Judiciary
- The party proposes a simplification and update of laws in form and content, and reduction of the use of wiretapping, that should be limited to serious crimes and threats to the state's security.
- Education
- The main point of difference with other parties is the support for state funding of private schools and universities, in order to provide equal conditions.
- Social responsibility
- The party declares its principle to be "helping people help themselves". It is in favour of using money to help the families of the ill, instead of financing public institutions for education of the young and care for the sick or elderly.
- Transport
- The Progress Party has often been considered "the motorist's party". They are for increased spending in road building and maintenance, and are against the commonplace system of financing public roads with tolls.
- Bank of Norway
- An increased degree of independence for the Bank of Norway is advocated.
- Outsourcing
- The party supports outsourcing of some public services.
Reasons for Success
It is remarkable that a new political party immediately succeeds in being represented in the parliament. With FrP it is even more remarkable, because it did not come into existence because of any peeling off from other parties, and its representatives were political novices. Template:Fact This question, and the question of why it has succeeded during the last decade, have been attributed to a series of causes.
- Television was a powerful channel for the party. The 1973 election campaign was the first to be covered by nationwide television, which functioned as an effective medium for Anders Lange's Party, that could not have the grassroot structure of other traditional parties since it had just been founded.
- The anti-hegemonic effects in the aftermath of the referendum on whether Norway should become a member of the EU in 1972. The defeat of the establishment, the gap between party-leaders and voters, functioned as the catalyst for political change.
- Widespread discontent with an ever-increasing tax level. Frustrated expectations among non-socialist voters who had hoped for tax-cuts. During the 1960s and beginning of the 1970s, there had been an unprecedented increase of taxes. In this period, a non-socialist coalition government led by Per Borten 1965-1971 came into office, and it had failed non-socialist voters' expectations of a change, Template:Fact it had failed to reduce taxes, and had introduce the VAT. Tax breaks have long been a main theme in Frp's program.
- The well established party organization
- Skillful political craftsmanship by Carl I Hagen.
- Drain of dissatisfied voters from other parties.
- The fading away of the socialist ideological hegemony, the crisis of the idea of the centrally planned economy, and the keynesian inteventionist theory that did not seem to work anymore. Template:Fact
- The renaissance of libertarian or classical liberalist political thought. Template:Fact
Criticism
Critics claim that the differences between the Progress party and other parties can be stark in many areas, and that of all Norwegian parties the Progress party is likely the one that inspires the most opinionated comments, in one way or another.
A "mayfly party"
As the party was founded just after the political upheaval that followed the 1972 EU referendum, the party was believed to be an ephemeral phenomenon. Template:Fact The now-legendary leader of the Conservative Party Kåre Willoch characterized it as a "mayfly party", implying that it would disappear as fast as it appeared. Ironically, in the 2005 election the Progress Party surpassed the Conservative Party in electoral support, gaining 22.1% of the popular vote, against only 14.1% to the Conservatives.
Populist
Some of its critics lump it together with right-wing populism in EuropeTemplate:Ref, because, they argue, like those parties it is sceptical towards immigration, tough on crime, sceptical towards bureaucracy and governmental control, and it works for reduction of taxes and charges.
Some of the opponents claim that Frp chairman Carl I. Hagen often changed the party's political views towards the popular opinion, and that it has helped increase Frp's electoral support. The decision not to have a position about Norway's membership in the European Union, an important issue in Norwegian politics, was criticised especially from this point of view. However, reseach has shown that FrP does not stand out as a particularly inconsistent party. On the contrary it has distinguishes itself as particularly consistent in its voting patern over the years. Template:Fact
Carl I. Hagen supposedly also has said that cannabis ought to be legal and alcohol not. Template:Fact However, The Progress Party supports more liberal alcohol legislation.
Immigration
Image:Progress Party Web Page.jpg
The immigration policy of the Progress party has for a long time been a matter of heated discussion. On one end, critics accuse the party of xenophobia, whereas supporters argue their positions are based on facts, such as overrepresentation of (non-European) immigrants in crime statistics and that only part of refugees are actually entitled political asylum. Template:Fact
The 2005 Brochure on Immigration
During the 2005 electoral campaign, the Progress Party printed a brochure focusing on criminal activities committed by immigrants. The text on the brochure reads «The assailant is of foreign origin!». The smaller text under the headline is «headline we often read». Heavy criticism followed, centered on the allegation that such an advertisement criminalized immigrants as a group.
The Progress Party protested that the critics were mutilating their message. The header on the next page of the on-line version of the brochure read: "«Those most eager to get rid of criminal imigrants are us honest immigrants!» (Pakistani born immigrant in Norway)".
The Progress Party maintains that it has nothing against law-abiding immigrants who are in Norway on legal premises, and they reject discrimination based on colour, race, cultural, ethnic or religious affiliation. [1]
War on Terror
Although the war on terror is not an issue the Progress Party promotes a lot, they have a clear position in support of the United States. Party chairman Carl I Hagen sometimes goes far in claiming that there is a link between islamist fundamentalism and terror. This position receives particularly broad support among conservative Christian communities. Template:Fact
On July 13, 2004 Carl I Hagen held a speech in one such community, the Living Word Bible Center in Bergen. He was quoted sayingTemplate:Ref: "We Christians are deeply concerned with children. Jesus said, let the small children come to me. I can't imagine that Muhammed could have said the same thing. [laughter in the audience] If he had, it would have been Let the small children come to me, so I can exploit them in my struggle to Islamify the world". Supporters of Hagen reject that, and claim that the particular quote was cited out of context. Critics reply back that that the complete speech contained various implications of Christianity being morally superior to Islam. Template:Fact
Carl I Hagen once said in an interview that "Not all Muslims are terrorists, but all terrorists are Muslim". Upon question of why he did not consider terrorism in the Basque country and Northern Ireland, he replied that these were "national conflicts, and [had] nothing to do with this [i.e. international terrorism]".Template:Ref
Isolation
Since its foundation, other parties has consistently refused the Progress Party to formally join any governing coalition, despite the Progress Party having broad popular support. Template:Fact
However, in the wake of the 2005 elections, that saw a wide increase in support for the Frp, the Conservatives stated they wanted to be "a bridge between Frp and the centre". Template:Fact
See also
- Politics of Norway
- Carl I. Hagen
- Neoliberalism
- Right-wing politics
- Libertarian perspectives on immigration
References
- Template:NoteAnders Lange's speech at Saga Kino, 8 April, 1973
- Template:NoteYes to more Frp, interview with liberal leader Lars Sponheim from Aftenposten.
- Template:NoteThe Norwegian Progress Party: Building Bridges across Old Cleavages by Tor Bjørklund and Jo Saglie, Norwegian Institute for Social Reseach, PDF file.
- Template:NotePredestined parties? organizational change in Norwegian political parties, by Knut Heidar and Jo Saglie. The Causes and Consequences of Organisational Innovation in European Political Parties at the ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops, Grenoble, April 11, 2001.
- Template:NoteJensen likely to take over Progress Party, from Aftenposten, October 6 2003.
- Template:NoteDescriptive article on the Progress Party by Aslak Bonde, political journalist of Aftenposten.
- Template:NotePopulism—a breath of health, by NTNU journalist Even Gran.
- Template:NoteCarl I. Hagen's speech at Levende Ord.
- Template:NoteHagen: all terrorists are muslim, from Aftenposten, August 26, 2005.
External links
- Template:No icon Fremskrittspartiet (Progress Party) - official site
- Template:No icon Fremskrittspartiets ungdom (Youth party) - official site
Template:Norwegian political partiesda:Fremskrittspartiet de:Fremskrittspartiet (Norwegen) it:Partito del progresso no:Fremskrittspartiet nn:Framstegspartiet sv:Fremskrittspartiet