Democrats (Norway)
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The Norway Democrats ( nb, Norgesdemokratene nn, Noregsdemokratane, ND) is an antiglobalist and national conservative political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. The party was originally founded as the Democrats ( nb, Demokratene nn, Demokratane, DEM), and it bore this name from 2002 to 2010, and again from 2018 to 2023. From 2010 to 2018, it was known as the Democrats in Norway ( nb, Demokratene i Norge nn, Demokratane i Noreg, DiN). The party was founded in 2002, chiefly by former members of the Progress Party led by
Vidar Kleppe Vidar Sveinung Kleppe (born 16 September 1963) is a Norwegian politician. He was a member of parliament and deputy leader of the Progress Party until he was suspended and left the party in 2001. He was the leader of the Democrats party from 200 ...
. The Norway Democrats have a conservative, Norwegian nationalist-oriented profile, and a centrist profile on economic issues; key issues are raising the minimal state pension, removal of toll stations, opposition to the European Union and a popular vote on Norway's membership in
EEC The European Economic Community (EEC) was a regional organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957,Today the largely rewritten treaty continues in force as the ''Treaty on the functioning of the European Union'', as renamed by the Lisb ...
, and
opposition to immigration Opposition to immigration, also known as anti-immigration, has become a significant political ideology in many countries. In the modern sense, immigration refers to the entry of people from one state or territory into another state or territory ...
. It considers its values to be based on Christianity and Norwegian heritage. The party has never been represented in the
Storting The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...
(Norwegian parliament) except for being joined by independent MP
Jan Simonsen Jan Simonsen (3 March 1953 – 12 August 2019) was a Norwegian writer, freelance journalist and politician. He was a member of parliament from 1989 to 2005. He was a member of the Progress Party until he was expelled from the party in 2001. Fr ...
in 2002, thus effectively being represented until the parliamentary term expired in 2005. The party reported to have 3,500 registered members in 2013."- Vi har satt Odda på kartet"
, ''Hardanger Folkeblad'', 19.03.2013
In the 2011 local elections, the party got eight representatives in five municipal councils, and one representation in a county council (
Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...
). In the 2019 local elections, the party gained popularity and became the third political force in the city council of Kristiansand with 13.4% of the votes. The party underwent another name change in 2023, adopting its current name and logo.


History


Foundation

The Democrats were founded on 24 August 2002 at ''Hotel Linne'' in Oslo, primarily by former Progress Party members, but also former members of the Labour Party,
Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, Liberal Party and Socialist Left Party. In November of the same year, the party successfully gathered 5,200 signatures (5,000 required), and was legally registered as a party. The new party's leader,
Vidar Kleppe Vidar Sveinung Kleppe (born 16 September 1963) is a Norwegian politician. He was a member of parliament and deputy leader of the Progress Party until he was suspended and left the party in 2001. He was the leader of the Democrats party from 200 ...
, had a vision that the party should have a role as an
ombudsman An ombudsman (, also ,), ombud, ombuds, ombudswoman, ombudsperson or public advocate is an official who is usually appointed by the government or by parliament (usually with a significant degree of independence) to investigate complaints and at ...
at grass roots level, similar to the role of
Anders Lange Anders Sigurd Lange (5 September 1904 – 18 October 1974) was a Norway, Norwegian political organiser, speaker and editor who led his eponymously named political party Anders Lange's Party for a Strong Reduction in Taxes, Duties and Public In ...
, the first leader of the Progress Party. Since Member of Parliament
Jan Simonsen Jan Simonsen (3 March 1953 – 12 August 2019) was a Norwegian writer, freelance journalist and politician. He was a member of parliament from 1989 to 2005. He was a member of the Progress Party until he was expelled from the party in 2001. Fr ...
(who was expelled from the Progress Party in 2001) joined the party upon its creation, the party was until 2005 also effectively represented in the Norwegian Parliament (technically, he had to sit as an independent). One of the components of the new party was the minor Social Democrats, previously known as the Generation Party, which in turn had been formed as a splinter group of the Pensioners' Party. The Democrats originally tried to take advantage of this party's status to run for election. This led to a struggle about the Democrats' right to put up lists in more counties. The conflict was resolved, and subsequently both the Democrats and the Social Democrats were eligible to contest elections in Norway. Later, the Democrats went on to draw leading figures and members from parties such as the Fatherland Party and the
Norwegian People's Party The Norwegian People's Party ( no, Norsk Folkeparti, NFP) is a political party in Norway which was founded in 1999. The party is led by Oddbjørn Jonstad, a former local leader of the Progress Party who was expelled from the party following some ...
.


Early years (2002–2012)

By August 2003, the headquarters of the Democrats in Kristiansand had reportedly been vandalised eight times. In its first elections, the 2003 local elections, the Democrats ran in 46 municipalities and boroughs, and won 0.3% of the nationwide vote in the county elections. It won two representatives in the Kristiansand municipal council, and one in the Vest-Agder county council. In 2005, the Democrats became represented in the Bergen city council owing to the defection of a Progress Party councillor. The party stepped up its activity with the aim of gaining a foothold in the Norwegian Parliament at the 2005 parliamentary election. Before the election, party leader Vidar Kleppe tried to bolster support for the party by calling for the closure of all Mosques in Norway if they did not clearly distance themselves from terrorism. Candidates running for the party also had to withstand threats and attacks during the electoral campaign. This included
Nordland Nordland (; smj, Nordlánnda, sma, Nordlaante, sme, Nordlánda, en, Northland) is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, the least populous of all 11 counties, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, N ...
county leader Amund Garfors receiving death threats, and party leader Vidar Kleppe being physically assaulted both by a former Workers' Communist Party deputy leader, and by members of a demonstration by left-wing organisations
SOS Rasisme SOS Rasisme was a Norwegian organisation, whose stated goal was to "fight racism and nazism." It was founded in 1985, as the Norwegian sister organisation of the French SOS Racisme. It went bankrupt in 2013 after being convicted of defrauding the g ...
, the Blitz-movement and Socialist Youth. Despite running a high-profile campaign, the Democrats failed to make any breakthrough in the election. The Democrats increased their number of candidates for the 2007 local elections, and ran in 85 municipalities and boroughs, as well as in all 19 counties. The party won 0.3% of the overall vote in the county elections, and kept its representation in the Vest-Agder county council. It gained eight municipal councillors, among them in the cities Trondheim and Kristiansand. For the 2009 parliamentary election the Democrats for the first time ran in all the counties in Norway. The Democrats complained about the
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...
to the OSCE, as the party along with other extraparliamentary parties that ran in all 19 counties had been denied television coverage (except the Red Party). Only a few weeks before the 2009 election, the headquarters of the Democrats were broken into, and a computer containing material planned for use in the election campaign was stolen. In the election, the party remained at 0.1% of the vote. The Democrats had to renew its public registration owing to the poor 2009 election result, and chose to re-register itself as the "Democrats in Norway". The party only ran in 31 municipalities for the 2011 local elections. It nevertheless again won eight municipal councillors, this time in five councils (two councillors in three councils), and held its representation in the Vest-Agder county council. Besides its two representatives in Kristiansand (in Vest-Agder), all of the party's municipal councillors were elected in Hordaland. After the election, the party became part of local cooperations that would govern Kristiansand and Stord.


Present era (2012–present)

Vidar Kleppe stepped down as leader in 2012 and was succeeded by Kjell Arne Sellæg. The change in leadership was followed by internal strife and resignations. Eleven weeks after his appointment as leader, Sellæg left the Democrats to form a new party, the Moderates. He was succeeded by Elisabeth Rue Strencbo. In 2013 the party elected Fredrik U. Litleskare as new leader of the party. Litleskare withdrew from the position in 2014 citing internal non-political conflicts, and was succeeded by Ellen Simonsen as acting leader. In 2015 Terje Svendsen was elected new leader. In 2016 Kim Steinar Kjærner-Strømberg was elected new leader, until he with the member of the board was exposed for a political coup according to the Norwegian Party Regulation Tribunal (PLN). He was succeeded by Makvan Kasheikal, an immigrant from Iran. The election of Makvan Kasheikal is regarded as not valid by the PLN (The Norwegian Party Regulation tribunal).


Political profile

The main issues for the party are law and order, increased help for the elderly and disabled, and a restrictive immigration and asylum policy. The principles of the Norway Democrats are built on Christian values, and Norwegian culture and tradition. The party opposes mass immigration and increased Islamic influence, fearing that Western liberal values such as human rights and the Christian heritage will be endangered. It also seeks drastic measures against crime. When questioned about the party's place on the political spectrum, former Democrats' leader Vidar Kleppe responded that the Democrats are "in many ways a centrist party." As of 2015, the party officially describes itself as a "national value-conservative" party. The Norway Democrats consider the Danish People's Party and the
Sweden Democrats The Sweden Democrats ( sv , Sverigedemokraterna ; SD ) is a nationalist and right-wing populist political party in Sweden. As of 2022, it is the largest member of Sweden's right-wing governing bloc to which it provides confidence and supply, a ...
to be their sister parties.Jan Simonsen
"Nye Demokratene med klar profil"
, ''Ukeavisen Ledelse'', 26.02.2014
The party has been characterised by media and scholars as a radical-right populist party."Høyreradikalisme"
, ''Store norske leksikon''


Law and order

The Norway Democrats identify the causes of the recent upsurge in serious crime in Norway to be a result of low penalties, liberal immigration policies, and a lack of funding for the police, courts and prison system. The party wants to raise the sentence frame of first-degree murder to
life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence of imprisonment for a crime under which convicted people are to remain in prison for the rest of their natural lives or indefinitely until pardoned, paroled, or otherwise commuted to a fixed term. Crimes for ...
, and otherwise raise minimum sentence frames. It does not support giving penalty discounts for multiple offences, and wants instead to add up penalties for every single offence. The party wants to double sentences for second-time offenders, triple sentences for third-time offenders and so on.


Immigration

One of the main issues for the Norway Democrats is immigration to Norway, and the party wants a strongly restrictive immigration policy. The party maintains that mass-immigration to western countries leads to considerable problems that are hard to solve, including considerable costs for social security payments and great increases in crime. The party believes that Norway's liberal values will be put in danger if a "Muslim mass immigration" is accepted. The party wants a stricter policy towards criminal immigrants, for instance allowing for the repatriation of immigrants participating in organized and gang-crime. The party also claims that the current Norwegian refugee-policy is cynical in that it seeks to help the few refugees who can afford the journey to Norway, when there are millions of people suffering worldwide without such possibilities. The Norway Democrats seek to change the refugee-policy to instead helping people outside the Norwegian border. They claim that in that way the Norwegian state can afford to help much more refugees for the same amount of money that it requires to help considerably fewer people in Norway.


Foreign policy

The Norway Democrats are opposed to Norwegian membership in the European Union, and wants Norway to withdraw from the European Economic Area and the Schengen Agreement. The party wants to replace membership of the EEA with a free trade agreement. While supporting continued membership of NATO and the United Nations, it contends that the latter must reform. The party supports increased free trade, and wants to dissolve state-controlled
foreign aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. Ai ...
. The party only supports foreign aid to countries pursuing free-market policies, but maintains support to countries in cases of natural disasters, war and famine. Supportive of Israel, the party proposes to move the Norwegian embassy to what it describes as "the country's capital, Jerusalem."


Election results


Local representation

As of the 2011 local elections (0.3% county results), the party is represented in one county,
Vest-Agder Vest-Agder (; "West Agder") was one of 18 counties (''fylker'') in Norway up until 1 January 2020, when it was merged with Aust-Agder to form Agder county. In 2016, there were 182,701 inhabitants, around 3.5% of the total population of Norway. I ...
(1), and five municipalities; Kristiansand (2), Askøy (2),
Odda Odda () is a former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county. It was located in southeastern Hordaland c ...
(2),
Fedje Fedje is an island municipality in the Nordhordland region of Vestland county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Fedje. The traditional economic activity of the inhabitants is fishing. The municipality is ...
(1) and Stord (1)


Endorsements

The Democrats have been endorsed by several notable figures in Norway. One of the co-founders of the party was former coach of the football club IK Start, Karsten Johannessen, who has since been a repeated low-key candidate for the party. In the 2005 parliamentary election, the Democrats were endorsed by former boxer Ole Klemetsen and former pop singer Gry Jannicke Jarlum, who both stood as low-key candidates. Professional Elvis impersonator
Kjell Elvis Kjell Henning Bjørnestad (born March 12, 1968), known as Kjell Elvis (or K. Elvis), is a Norwegian professional Elvis impersonator: He is an Elvis look alike and has had plastic surgery to look more like Elvis. He is also a sound alike and has r ...
has long endorsed Vidar Kleppe, and subsequently the Democrats, and stood as a low-key candidate for it in 2011. Country artist
Åsmund Åmli Åsmund or Aasmund is a Norse male given name, derived from ''as'' ('god') and ''mundr'' ('protector'). People with the given name Åsmund or Aasmund include: *Asmund, Varangian tutor of Sviatoslav I of Kiev (945–972) *Åsmund Asdal (born 1957), ...
stood as a low-key candidate for the party in both the 2007 and 2011 local elections.


Party leaders

*
Vidar Kleppe Vidar Sveinung Kleppe (born 16 September 1963) is a Norwegian politician. He was a member of parliament and deputy leader of the Progress Party until he was suspended and left the party in 2001. He was the leader of the Democrats party from 200 ...
(2002–2012) * Kjell Arne Sellæg (2012) *
Elisabeth Rue Strencbo The Norway Democrats ( nb, Norgesdemokratene nn, Noregsdemokratane, ND) is an antiglobalist and national conservative political party in Norway without parliamentary representation. The party was originally founded as the Democrats ( nb, Demokr ...
(2012–2013) * Fredrik U. Litleskare (2013–2014) * Ellen Simonsen (2014–2015; acting) *
Terje Svendsen Terje may refer to: *Terje (name), a form of the Scandinavian name Torgeir *Tria ( hu, Terje), a village in the commune of Derna, Bihor Derna ( hu, FelsÅ‘derna) is a commune in northeastern Bihor County, CriÈ™ana, Romania, 50 km from the coun ...
(2015–2016) * Kim Steinar Kjærner-Strømberg (2016) * Makvan Kasheikal (2016–2021) *
Geir Ugland Jacobsen Geir is a masculine name commonly given in Norway and Iceland. It is derived from Old Norse ''geirr'' "spear", a common name element in Germanic names in general, from Proto-Germanic '' *gaizaz'' (whence also Old High German ''gêr'', Old English ' ...
(2021-)


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Nationalist parties in Norway Anti-immigration politics in Norway Eurosceptic parties in Norway Political parties established in 2002 2002 establishments in Norway Conservative parties in Norway