| Red-Green Coalition | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Jens Stoltenberg |
| Founded | September 14, 2005 |
| Ideology | Social democracy Democratic socialism |
| Political position | Centre-left |
The Red-Green Coalition is a centre-left coalition of Norwegian parties, formed by the Labour (Ap), the Socialist Left Party (SV), and the Centre Party. Unlike many other Red-Green coalitions, the "Green" here is the colour of a centrist party rather than an actual Green party. It was established in 2005 to constitute an alternative to the centre-right government of Kjell Magne Bondevik, and won the Norwegian parliamentary election, 2005. The 2009 election gave the coalition a renewed majority.
The coalition fared well in the 2005 parliamentary elections, winning a slight majority of seats, and a majority government among the parties was agreed upon, the first majority government in Norway since 1985. It replaced the Bondevik government on October 17, 2005. However, the three parties taking part in the coalition have different views on several important issues [1], and there were tough negotiations at Soria Moria in Oslo to put their differences aside in order to reach a common platform.
The victory was a historical landmark for a number of reasons. The Labour Party had never been a member of a coalition government, except for a short interim at the end of World War II. The Socialist Left Party had never participated in any government, and historically had been unwilling to co-operate with Labour. In addition, the Centre Party is co-operating with the centre-left of Norwegian politics for the first time, having previously formed governments with both the Conservatives and the Christian Democratic Party on several occasions.
A good relationship between the leader of Labour, Jens Stoltenberg, and of the Socialist Left, Kristin Halvorsen, has been a major factor in forming the alliance. Halvorsen is considered more pragmatic and moderate than some of her old-guard comrades; the Socialist People's Party, one of SV's predecessors, was established in the early 1960s as an ideological opponent to Labour's foreign policy, and it was the main opponent to NATO membership. After the September 2005 election, some old members have criticised Halvorsen for being too benign towards Labour.
Opponents of the Red-Green Coalition sometimes refer to this coalition by other names. The Norwegian centre-right, comprising Conservatives, Christian Democrats, Liberal Party and Progress party usually call it a socialist coalition, even though only one of the involved coalition partners (SV) describes itself as socialist. The Red Electoral Alliance feels that "red" is not a descriptive colour for this coalition and therefore uses "pale red". Similarly, The Green Party and the Liberals (Venstre) claim that these three parties do not deserve the green colour.
The 2009 parliamentary elections resulted in a renewed majority for the Red-Green coalition, with 86 seats out of 169. The Socialist Left Party lost four seats in parliament, while the Labour Party gained three, and this is expected to cause some shift in the government's composition.[1] The successful reelection of a sitting government has been a rare event in Norway, and has not happened since 1993.[2]
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