This week, a governing coalition was finally formed in Norway, a full four months after the general election which saw the minority government of Conservatives and populist-right Progress party remain in power. The new coalition platform now includes the Liberal party, Venstre, who have controversially joined forces with the Progress party for the first time, despite repeatedly denying this was a possibility during the election campaign.
Arguably, very little of Norwegian politics has any real international significance, barring a few issues. Two exceptions that come to mind are the potential influence Norway is having on Britain’s post-Brexit options, as well as the way the country manages its gigantic pension fund (the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund). But the most significant area is related to oil and gas activity, since Norway has for many years been among the world’s largest petroleum exporters by volume. Only the gulf states of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and U.A.E. are bigger exporters per-capita. A fair amount of the responsibility for the global climate crisis can justifiably be laid at the feet of Norway, which has become one of the world’s richest countries as a direct result.
Norwegian environmental organisation Natur og Ungdom protesting in Paris 2015. Photo by Helene Lind Jensen
