Progress Party (Norway)

This article is about the Norwegian party. For the former Danish party, see Progress Party (Denmark).

Progress Party
Fremskrittspartiet
AbbreviationFrP
LeaderSylvi Listhaug
Deputy leadersTerje Søviknes
Hans Andreas Limi
Parliamentary leaderSylvi Listhaug
FounderAnders Lange
Founded8 April 1973 (1973-04-08)
HeadquartersKarl Johans gate 25 0159, Oslo
NewspaperFremskritt
Youth wingProgress Party's Youth
Membership (2023)16,075[1]
Ideology
Political positionRight-wing
Colours  Blue
Storting
21 / 169
County councils
83 / 728
Municipal councils
948 / 10,781
Sami Parliament
1 / 39
Website
frp.no

The Progress Party (Bokmål: Fremskrittspartiet; Nynorsk: Framstegspartiet, FrP; Northern Sami: Ovddádusbellodat), is a political party in Norway.[17][18] It is generally positioned to the right of the Conservative Party, and is considered the most right-wing party to be represented in parliament. The FrP has traditionally self-identified as classical-liberal[19][unreliable source] and as a libertarian party.[20][21][22] It is often described as right-wing populist,[7] which has been disputed in public discourse,[26][27] and has been described by various academics as far-right.[34] By 2020, the party attained a growing national conservative faction.[3][4] After the 2017 parliamentary election, it was Norway's third largest political party, with 26 representatives in the Storting.[35] It was a partner in the government coalition led by the Conservative Party from 2013 to 2020.[36]

The Progress Party focuses on law and order, downsizing the bureaucracy and the public sector; the FrP self-identifies as an economic liberal party which competes with the left to represent the workers of Norway.[37][38] The party has officially opposed Norwegian membership in the European Union since 2016, after having been neutral on the issue before.[39] The Progress Party calls for a strict immigration policy, integration of immigrants and for the removal of illegal immigrants or foreigners who commit crimes. During its time in coalition government from 2013, the party oversaw the creation of a Minister for Integration and increased the process of deporting failed asylum seekers or migrants with criminal convictions.[40] It has been described as anti-immigration;[41] nevertheless, the FrP also supports free migration to and from the European Union through the European Economic Area as well as helping refugees through the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Progress Party has been amenable to receiving Ukrainian refugees.[42]

The Progress Party was founded by Anders Lange in 1973 as an anti-tax protest movement. Its development was greatly influenced by Carl I. Hagen, the party's long-standing leader between 1978 and 2006.[43][44] Siv Jensen served as the party leader between 2006 and 2021, when in February 2021 she announced that she would be stepping down at the next party convention in May.[45] She was succeeded by her deputy leader, Sylvi Listhaug on 8 May 2021.[46]

  1. ^ "Medlemstall for 2023 er klare" (in Norwegian). 2024.
  2. ^ a b Nordsieck, Wolfram (2021). "Norway". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  3. ^ a b "Listhaug: Det er rom for nasjonalkonservative i Frp" [Listhaug: There is room for national conservatives in Frp]. Utrop (in Norwegian). NTB. 22 February 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Siv Jensen sier det er helt greit å være nasjonalkonservativ i Frp" [Siv Jensen says it is perfectly fine to be national conservative in Frp]. NRK (in Norwegian). 9 February 2021.
  5. ^ [3][4]
  6. ^ Berg, Linda; Hero, Mikela Lundahl; Johansson, Anna; Laskar, Pia; Martinsson, Lena; Mulinari, Diana; Wasshede, Cathrin (2020). Pluralistic Struggles in Gender, Sexuality and Coloniality: Challenging Swedish Exceptionalism (E-book ed.). New York: Springer International Publishing. p. 214. ISBN 978-3030474324. Retrieved 17 September 2021 – via Google Books. ... of the populist right-wing libertarian party Framskrittspartiet (The Progress Party).
  7. ^ a b Sources describing the Progress Party as right-wing populist:[2][15][23][24][25]
  8. ^ a b van Spanje, Joost (July 2011). "The Wrong and the Right: A Comparative Analysis of 'Anti-Immigration' and 'Far Right' Parties". Government and Opposition. 46 (3). Cambridge University Press: 293–320. doi:10.1111/j.1477-7053.2011.01340.x. ISSN 0017-257X. JSTOR 44482223. S2CID 145560004. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Leader of Norwegian populist party to step down". The Local. 18 February 2021.
  10. ^ Paterson, Tony (10 September 2013). "Norway election results: Anti-immigrant party with links to mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik set to enter government under Conservative leader Erna Solberg". The Independent. Retrieved 20 August 2022. Norway's anti-immigration Progress Party ...
  11. ^ Sommers, Jack (14 September 2015). "Refugee Crisis: Norwegian Politicians Suggest Sending Asylum Seekers To Arctic Island Svalbard". HuffPost. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  12. ^ Jacobsen, Stine; Solsvik, Terje (14 September 2015). "Norway's anti-immigrant party set for worst election result in 22 years". Reuters. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Norway election: Ruling Conservatives claim second term". BBC News. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2022. Her conservative coalition with the anti-immigration Progress Party ran a campaign promising tax cuts, which it said would help to boost economic growth.
  14. ^ a b Wiggen, Mette (18 February 2021). "As Norway's far Right declines in popularity, a new populist force rises". openDemocracy. Retrieved 20 August 2022. However, as expected, the anti-immigration Progress Party, Fremskrittspartiet (FrP), has since demanded stricter control of borders, migrants and migrant labour due to the possibility of what it called 'import infection'.
  15. ^ a b "Norway: Populist party quits government over jihadi spouse repatriation". The Local (Norway edition). 20 January 2020. Retrieved 20 August 2022.
  16. ^ Sources describing the Progress Party as anti-immigration:[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]
  17. ^ Jacob Furedi (26 August 2016). "Burkini ban: Norway's right-wing Progress Party calls for full-body swimsuit to be outlawed". The Independent. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  18. ^ Stine Jacobsen and Terje Solsvik (14 September 2015). "Norway's anti-immigrant party set for worst election result in 22 years". Reuters. Archived from the original on 25 August 2016. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
  19. ^ "Norwegian Progress Party (FrP) Campaign Stand Editorial Photography – Image of liberal, flag: 59309592". Dreamstime. Archived from the original on 17 October 2020. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  20. ^ O'Leary, Margaret (2010). Culture and Customs of Norway. United States: Greenwood. p. 18. ISBN 978-0313362484.
  21. ^ Rydgren, Jens (2013). Class Politics and the Radical Right. Routledge. p. 108. ISBN 978-0415690522.
  22. ^ Widfeldt 2014, p. 94-95.
  23. ^ Cite error: The named reference Bjerkem2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  24. ^ Schultheis, Emily (12 September 2017). "What Right-Wing Populists Look Like in Norway". The Atlantic. Retrieved 20 August 2022. By any objective standard, the Progress Party is among the most successful right-wing populist parties in Europe ...
  25. ^ Bergmann, Eirikur (2017). Nordic Nationalism and Right-Wing Populist Politics: Imperial Relationships and National Sentiments. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 199. ISBN 978-1137567031.
  26. ^ Veggeland, Noralv (20 August 2018). "Ikke kall Frp populistisk". Nationen. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  27. ^ "Hvitvasking av FrP?". Civita (in Norwegian Bokmål). 3 October 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2020.
  28. ^ Twist, Kimberly A. (December 2019). Partnering with Extremists: Coalitions between Mainstream and Far-Right Parties in Western Europe. University of Michigan Press. doi:10.3998/mpub.10117163. ISBN 9780472125203. S2CID 211305145. Retrieved 2 October 2023. The far-right Progress Party (FrP) in Norway has been a part of three governing coalitions: as a support party for the coalition led by the Christian People's Party (KF), formed after the 2001 elections, which also included the Conservatives (Høyre) and the Liberals (V), and twice as a formal coalition partner of Høyre, following the 2013 and 2017 elections.
  29. ^ Niklasson, Elisabeth; Hølleland, Herdis (June 2018). "The Scandinavian far-right and the new politicisation of heritage". Journal of Social Archaeology. 18 (2). Sage Publishing: 121–148. doi:10.1177/1469605318757340. hdl:11250/2590486. ISSN 1469-6053. S2CID 149070811. Retrieved 1 October 2023 – via ResearchGate.
  30. ^ Lazaridis, Gabriella; Tsagkroni, Vasiliki (October 2015). "Securitisation of Migration and Far Right Populist Othering in Scandinavian Countries". The Securitisation of Migration in the EU: Debates Since 9/11. Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 207–236. doi:10.1057/9781137480583_10. ISBN 978-1-137-48058-3. Retrieved 1 October 2023 – via ResearchGate.
  31. ^ Ivarsflaten, Elisabeth; Sniderman, Paul M. (January 2022). "A New Framework for the Study of Inclusive Politics". The Struggle for Inclusion: Muslim Minorities and the Democratic Ethos. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226807416.
  32. ^ Madeley, John (April 1990). "Norway's 1989 election: The path to polarised pluralism?". West European Politics. 13 (2). Routledge: 287–292. doi:10.1080/01402389008424797. ISSN 0140-2382. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  33. ^ "Factsheet: Norwegian Progress Party". Bridge Initiative. Georgetown University. 8 February 2021. Retrieved 2 October 2023. The Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet, FRP) is a far-right anti-Muslim political party in Norway
  34. ^ Sources describing the Progress Party as far-right:[8][28][29][30][31][32][33][14]
  35. ^ "Partioversikt". Stortinget (in Norwegian). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  36. ^ "Norway party quits government in 'jihadist-wife' row". BBC News. 20 January 2020. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  37. ^ Berge, Grete Ingebjørg (1 May 2019). "Her er landets 1. mai-talere". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  38. ^ "Progress Party, Information in English". FrP. Archived from the original on 28 March 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  39. ^ "Frp sier nei til EU for første gang". Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). NTB. 4 September 2016.
  40. ^ "Norway deports most foreign criminals ever". The Local Norway. 3 February 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  41. ^ Hagelund, Anniken (May 2001). "A Matter of Decency? The Progress Party in Norwegian Immigration Politics". Sussex Migration Working Papers.
  42. ^ "Situasjonen i Ukraina: Dette mener FrP". FRP.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Progress Party. 2 March 2022. Retrieved 23 April 2022.
  43. ^ Widfeldt 2014, p. 109, 113.
  44. ^ Forr, Gudleiv. "Carl I Hagen". In Helle, Knut (ed.). Norsk biografisk leksikon (in Norwegian). Oslo: Kunnskapsforlaget. Retrieved 27 August 2010.
  45. ^ "Leader of Norwegian populist party to step down". The Local Norway. The Local. 18 February 2021.
  46. ^ "Sylvi Listhaug lover å gjenreise Fremskrittspartiet". tv2.no (in Norwegian). TV2. 8 May 2021.