Centre Party (Norway)

The Centre Party (Senterpartiet, SP) is a Norwegian political party founded in 1920. Until 1959 it bore the name Bondepartiet ("The Farmers' Party"). The Centre Party's policy is not based on any of the great ideologies of the 19th and 20th century, but has a great focus on decentralization of actual power and capital. Thus the party strongly opposes Norwegian membership in the European Union.

Related Topics:
Norwegian - Political party - 1920 - 1959 - Capital - European Union

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The party has been marked by its pragmatic style of politics, which has allowed it to cooperate with political parties across the spectrum from the Conservative Party (Høyre, H) to the Socialist Left Party (Sosialistisk Venstreparti, SV). Between 1930 and 2000 the Centre Party has participated in seven governments, three of which were led by a Prime Minister from the party.

Related Topics:
Conservative Party - Socialist Left Party

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During the eight decades since the Centre Party was created as a political fraction of a Norwegian agrarian organization, the party has changed a great deal. Only few years after the creation the party broke with its mother organization and started developing a policy based on decentralization, moving away from a single-minded agrarian policy, like that which has trapped many other European Centre Parties' conduct.

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The Centre Party's current leader is Åslaug Haga (since 2003).

Related Topics:
Åslaug Haga - 2003

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In the 2005 parliamentary election the party ran for government together with the Norwegian Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet, Ap) and the Socialist Left Party (SV), with the Centre Party constituting the "green part" of that Red-Green Coalition. The coalition was successful in winning the majority of the seats in the Storting, and negotiations followed with the aim of forming a coalition cabinet led by the Labour Party's leader Jens Stoltenberg.

Related Topics:
2005 parliamentary election - Norwegian Labour Party - Socialist Left Party - Red-Green Coalition - Storting - Jens Stoltenberg

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