Christian Democratic Party (Norway)

"KrF" redirects here. For the chemical compound, see Krypton fluoride. For other uses, see KRF (disambiguation).
Christian People's Party
Kristelig Folkeparti
AbbreviationKrF
LeaderDag Inge Ulstein
FoundersNils Lavik[1]
... and c. 25 others
Founded4 September 1933 (1933-09-04) in Bergen
HeadquartersØvre Slottsgate 18–20 0154, Oslo
NewspaperFolkets Framtid (1947-2005)
Youth wingYoung Christian Democrats
Membership (2023)Decrease 15,000[4]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing
ReligionLutheranism
European affiliationEuropean People's Party (observer)
International affiliationCentrist Democrat International
Nordic affiliationCentre Group
Colours
  •   Red
  •   Cream
Storting
3 / 169
County Councils
29 / 664
Municipal Councils
396 / 9,122
Sami Parliament
0 / 39
Website
krf.no Edit this at Wikidata

The Christian Democratic Party (Bokmål: Kristelig Folkeparti, Nynorsk: Kristeleg Folkeparti, lit. 'Christian People's Party', KrF; Northern Sami: Risttalaš Álbmotbellodat) is a Christian political party in Norway that has since 2019 espoused Christian conservatism, right-wing populism and anti-LGBT politics. It was founded in 1933 and its political position has varied over time, as it represented a more liberal form of Christian democracy prior to 2019. The party is an observer member of the European People's Party (EPP). It currently holds three seats in the Parliament, having won 3.8% of the vote in the 2021 parliamentary election. The current leader of the party is Dag Inge Ulstein.[5]

The Christian Democrats' leader from 1983 to 1995, Kjell Magne Bondevik, was one of the most prominent political figures in modern Norway, serving as Prime Minister from 1997 to 2000 and 2001 to 2005. Under the old leadership of Bondevik and Valgerd Svarstad Haugland, the party to some extent moved in a more liberal or left-wing direction. Due largely to their poor showing in the 2009 elections, the party has seen a conflict between its conservative and liberal wings.[6] Until 2019, the leader was Knut Arild Hareide, who led the party into a more liberal direction as part of a "renewal" process,[7][8] and introduced climate change and environmentalism as the party's most important issues.[9] Prior to 2019 the party was also referred to as Christian-democratic.[10][11][12][13] However, the liberal turn ended in 2019 and the party has since moved sharply to the right and embraced right-wing populist issues such "anti-woke" politics, as its Christian conservative wing became dominant. Hareide wanted the party to cooperate with the social democrats, but narrowly lost an internal struggle to the faction that wanted to collaborate with the far-right and anti-immigrant Progress Party.[14] Since 2019 the party has opposed LGBT rights and been criticized as "the voice of transphobia" by LGBT rights groups and centre-left parties.[15] As of 2024, the party promotes anti-gender and anti-trans rhetoric, attacking what they refer to as "gender ideology."[16]

  1. ^ Kristelig folkepartis historie 1933-1983. Valo. 1985. p. 1.
  2. ^ a b Hove, Odd Sverre (1972). Kristen-demokratene. no#: Valo forlag. p. 157.
  3. ^ Hove, Odd Sverre (1972). Kristen-demokratene. no#: Valo forlag. p. 158.
  4. ^ Ertesvåg, Frank (2023-04-21). "Er blitt et gamlis- og miniparti – Ida (30) vil fornye KrF-familien". VG (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2024-08-24.
  5. ^ "Olaug Bollestad trekker seg som KrF-leder" (in Norwegian). 22 August 2024. Retrieved 23 August 2024.
  6. ^ Gjerde, Robert (15 February 2010). "Nestleder vil skrote KrFs Israel-politikk". Aftenposten. Stavanger. Archived from the original on 2 February 2010. Retrieved 10 June 2010.
  7. ^ "Eriksen: – Vi er ein offensiv gjeng". NRK. 30.04.2011. "Den nye leiartrioen skal føre Krf gjennom ei fornyingsfase fram mot stortingsvalet i 2013. Eriksen har leia partiet sitt strategiutval og står bak ei rekkje forslag som vil trekkje KrF i meir liberal retning."
  8. ^ "KrF-Hareide: - Ja, jeg har fått meg kjæreste". VG. 26.04.2011.
  9. ^ "Dropper å gå i regjering – satser på miljø". Archived from the original on 2020-12-02. Retrieved 2018-01-17.
  10. ^ Hans Slomp (2011). Europe, A Political Profile: An American Companion to European Politics. ABC-CLIO. p. 425. ISBN 978-0-313-39182-8.
  11. ^ Nordsieck, Wolfram (2017). "Norway". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 13 August 2018.
  12. ^ Oyvind Osterud (2013). Norway in Transition: Transforming a Stable Democracy. Routledge. pp. 114–. ISBN 978-1-317-97037-8.
  13. ^ T. Banchoff (28 June 1999). Legitimacy and the European Union. Taylor & Francis. pp. 126–. ISBN 978-0-415-18188-4. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  14. ^ "Knallhardt oppgjør med Ropstad og Bollestad i ny bok fra Hareide-rådgiver". Aftenposten. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  15. ^ "KrF er blitt stemmen for transfobi i Norge" [KrF has become the voice of transphobia]. Aftenposten. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  16. ^ "KrF-lederen vil ha kjønnsidentitet ut av skolen: – Det avviker fra medisin og biologi". Aftenposten. Retrieved 18 November 2024.