Labour Party (Norway)

The party headquarters in Oslo

The party was founded in 1887[11][12] in Arendal and first ran in elections to the Storting in 1894. It entered the parliament in 1903 and steadily increased its vote until 1927, when it became the largest party in Norway. The party were members of Communist International (Comintern), a communist organisation, between 1918 and 1923.[13]

From the establishment of Vort Arbeide in 1884, the party had a growing and notable organisation of newspapers and other press outlets. The party press system eventually resulted in Norsk Arbeiderpresse (Norwegian Labour Press, now A-pressen). In January 1913, the party had 24 newspapers and six more newspapers were founded in 1913. The party also had the periodical Det 20de Aarhundre.[14] In 1920, the party had 33 newspapers and 6 semi-affiliated newspapers.[15] The party had its own publishing house, Det norske Arbeiderpartis forlag, succeeded by Tiden Norsk Forlag. In addition to books and pamphlets, Det norske Arbeiderpartis forlag published Maidagen (annual May Day publication), Arbeidets Jul (annual Christmas publication) and Arbeiderkalenderen (calendar).[16] The party also published a monthly political magazine, Kontakt, between 1947 and 1954 which was edited by Torolf Elster.[17]

From its roots as a radical alternative to the political establishment, the party grew to its current dominance through several eras. The party experienced a split in 1921 caused by a decision made two years earlier to join the Comintern and the Social Democratic Labour Party of Norway was formed. In 1923, the party left the Comintern while a significant minority of its members left the party to form the Communist Party of Norway. In 1927, the Social Democrats were reunited with Labour. Some Communists also joined Labour whereas other Communists tried a failed merger endeavor which culminated in the formation of the Arbeiderklassens Samlingsparti. The same year, Helga Karlsen became the party's first Member of Parliament.[18]

In 1928, Christopher Hornsrud formed Labour's first government, but it lasted only two weeks. During the early 1930s, Labour abandoned its revolutionary profile and set a reformist course. Labour then returned to government in 1935 and remained in power throughout the Second World War. The party was a member of the Labour and Socialist International between 1938 and 1940.[19] When Norway was invaded by Nazi Germany in 1940, the Labour-led government and the Norwegian royal family fled to London, whence it led a government-in-exile for the duration of the war.

Immediately following the end of the Second World War, the Labour Party emerged victorious from the 1945 Norwegian parliamentary election. For the first time, the party secured an absolute majority in the Storting, taking 76 of 150 seats. Einar Gerhardsen of the Labour Party subsequently formed his first government, and he went on to dominate the post-war political scene over the following years. Gerhardsen is commonly referred to as Landsfaderen (Father of the Nation) and is generally considered one of the principal architects behind the reconstruction of Norway after the Second World War. The period from 1945 has been described as the golden age of the Norwegian Labour Party, and the party retained its parliamentary majority until the 1961 election. In 1963, the Kings Bay Affair drove the opposition to table a motion of no-confidence against the Gerhardsen's cabinet; the motion was ultimately successful, and Labour was forced to step down from government for the first time in 28 years. However, the incoming centre-right coalition proved short-lived, and Labour returned to government less than one month later, and remained in office until 1965.

The Labour Party later formed government in the periods of 1971–1972, 1973–1981, 1986–1989, and 1990–1997. Labour prime ministers in this period included party veterans Oscar Torp, Trygve Bratteli, and Gro Harlem Brundtland, and the party remained the largest in Norway throughout the remainder of the 20th century.

Campaign booth at Karl Johans gate ahead of the 2007 Norwegian local elections

In the year 2000, the centre-right coalition led by Kjell Magne Bondevik of the Christian Democrats was toppled in a confidence vote, and the Labour Party returned to power under Jens Stoltenberg, who became prime minister. However, after a period of intense infighting between Stoltenberg and former prime minister Thorbjørn Jagland, and a turbulent spell in government, the party collapsed to only 24.3% of the vote in the 2001 Norwegian parliamentary election, marking its worst result since 1924. The party returned to the opposition under Stoltenberg's leadership, before later recovering to 32.7% in the 2005 Norwegian parliamentary election. The Labour Party subsequently formed its first ever peace-time coalition government along with the Socialist Left and Centre parties. Their cooperation was dubbed the Red-green coalition, in emulation of similar constellations in Germany.

In 2011, the party changed its official name from the Norwegian Labour Party (Det norske arbeiderparti) to the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet). The party claimed there had been confusion among voters at polling stations because of the difference between the official name and the common use name of Labour Party. The name change caused Arbeiderpartiet to appear on the ballot, eliminating any potential confusion.[20][21] On 22 July 2011, a terrorist opened fire at the Labour Party's youth camp (ages 13–25), killing 69 people and killing eight more in Oslo with a bomb towards a government building (which was led by the Labour Party). Stoltenberg's initial response to the 22 July attack was well received by the Norwegian public. As he reaffirmed his government's commitment to the values of openness and tolerance in the face of adversity or intolerance his approval rating soared as high as 94%, only to decrease sharply after the 22 July Commission report highlighted the laggard response time of police cost dozens of lives.[22][23]

In the 2013 Norwegian parliamentary election, the Red-green coalition lost its majority in the Storting, but the Labour Party remained the largest party in the Storting. Jens Stoltenberg, who had served as prime minister for 10 of the past 13 years, remained party leader until he stepped down in 2014 after being appointed Secretary General of NATO. Later, Jonas Gahr Støre, a prominent profile in the Stoltenberg government, was chosen as new party leader on 14 June 2014.[24] In the 2017 Norwegian parliamentary election, he led the party to a surprise defeat, as Labour fell 3.4 perentage points to 27.4%, and from 55 to 49 seats in the Storting, while the Conservative Party managed to retain a majority along with its smaller centre-right partners. Erna Solberg, Conservative prime minister since 2013, remained in office throughout the 2017—2021 term. In the same year, the Labour Party was targeted by hackers suspected to be from Russia.[25]

In 2021, the Labour Party returned to government after eight years in opposition, following the 2021 Norwegian parliamentary election. The party dropped to 48 seats from the 49 it had secured in 2017, but its centre-left coalition secured a landslide victory overall, taking 100 of the 169 seats in the Storting. The energy crisis was the most important issue for voters.[26] Party leader Jonas Gahr Støre assumed the Norwegian premiership on 14 October 2021, at the helm of a minority coalition with the Centre Party. Soon after assuming power, the new coalition was faced with a series of crises, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine and subsequent energy price hikes. The government was criticized for its handling of these crises, and by August 2022, Støre had dropped to 31% in preferred prime minister polling, against 49% for Erna Solberg, the Conservative prime minister in the 2013—2021 period.[27] Meanwhile, the Labour Party hit record-low ratings in voting intention polls in late 2022, with a number of polls placing it below the 20%-mark in September 2022.[28]

1. Christopher Hornsrud (January–February 1928)
2. Johan Nygaardsvold (1935–1945)[lower-alpha 1]
3. Einar Gerhardsen (1945–1951)
4. Oscar Torp (1951–1955)
5. Einar Gerhardsen (1955–1963), (1963–1965)
6. Trygve Bratteli (1971–1972, 1973–1976)
7. Odvar Nordli (1976–1981)
8. Gro Harlem Brundtland (February–October 1981, 1986–1989, 1990–1996)
9. Thorbjørn Jagland (1996–1997)
10. Jens Stoltenberg (2000–2001, 2005–2013)
11. Jonas Gahr Støre (2021–present)