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Undid revision 828937018 by User2534 (talk) For almost every party on wikipedia, their official ideology comes first. In the case of the Red Party, this issue was resolved last year.
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In its official political program, the party says that its ultimate goal is a [[classless society]], which it describes as "what [[Karl Marx]] called [[communism]]", and that "the Red Party bases its understanding of society on [[Marxism|Marxist theory]]".<ref name="nrk"/><ref name="Program-Rødt">{{Cite web|title=Program of the Red party|url=http://rødt.no/politikk/prinsipprogram/program-of-the-red-party|work=Rødt|language=English}}</ref> In 2014, there was large support within the party to highlight the [[communist revolution]]s [[Chinese Communist Revolution|in China]] and [[Russian Revolution|in Russia]] as "positive", with half the committee drafting the program supporting an early draft that stated this, although it was ultimately decided that it would not be included in the final program.<ref name="Kommunisme">{{Cite news|url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/roedt/roedt-holder-paa-kommunismen/a/10123041/|title=Rødt holder på kommunismen [Red holds on to communism]|date=11 May 2014|work=VG/NTB|language=Norwegian}}</ref><ref>[http://www.bt.no/nyheter/innenriks/Mao-strid-i-Rodt-3104637.html "Mao-strid i Rødt"]. ''Bergens Tidende''. 24 April 2014.</ref>
In its official political program, the party says that its ultimate goal is a [[classless society]], which it describes as "what [[Karl Marx]] called [[communism]]", and that "the Red Party bases its understanding of society on [[Marxism|Marxist theory]]".<ref name="nrk"/><ref name="Program-Rødt">{{Cite web|title=Program of the Red party|url=http://rødt.no/politikk/prinsipprogram/program-of-the-red-party|work=Rødt|language=English}}</ref> In 2014, there was large support within the party to highlight the [[communist revolution]]s [[Chinese Communist Revolution|in China]] and [[Russian Revolution|in Russia]] as "positive", with half the committee drafting the program supporting an early draft that stated this, although it was ultimately decided that it would not be included in the final program.<ref name="Kommunisme">{{Cite news|url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/roedt/roedt-holder-paa-kommunismen/a/10123041/|title=Rødt holder på kommunismen [Red holds on to communism]|date=11 May 2014|work=VG/NTB|language=Norwegian}}</ref><ref>[http://www.bt.no/nyheter/innenriks/Mao-strid-i-Rodt-3104637.html "Mao-strid i Rødt"]. ''Bergens Tidende''. 24 April 2014.</ref>


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== History ==

=== Formation ===
Red was founded on 7 March 2007, in a merger of the [[Red Electoral Alliance]] and the [[Workers' Communist Party (Norway)|Workers' Communist Party]]. The two parties had shared the same history for decades, because the Workers' Communist Party founded the Red Electoral Alliance as an electoral party that would promote [[communist]] and [[socialist]] values. During the [[national convention]] held by the Red Electoral Alliance, a faction within the party stated it would support the merger of the two parties if any references to communism in the new party program would be removed.<ref>{{cite news | page = 11 | title = Et farvel til kommunismen? | work = [[Adresseavisen]] | date = 12 February 2007 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref>
During a secret meeting between the leading staff of both parties on 5 March, a vote was held, with most members supporting the merger. The Workers' Communist Party was official dissolved in April 2007.<ref>{{cite news | page = 13 | title = AKP og RV samles til helgen | work = [[Stavanger Aftenblad]] | date = 6 March 2007 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref> During the party's first [[national convention]], three names were considered: Red Choice, Solidarity, and Red Cloth.<ref>{{cite news | page = 11 | title = Rødt - rett og slett | work = [[Bergens Tidende]] | date = 11 March 2007| language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref> When founded, the party saw it as its main mission to fill "the void" between it and the [[Red-Green Coalition]].<ref>{{cite news | page = 30 | title = Nytt parti på venstresida! | work = [[Dagsavisen]] | date = 21 March 2007| language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref> When talking about the party program, [[Torstein Dahle]] said:

{{cquote|We will bring up issues which have broad agreement among the people of Norway, but are unfortunately not reflected in the other parties' policies.<ref name="Nordstoga, Anders">{{cite news | author = Nordstoga, Anders | title = Rødt skal fylle tomrommet på venstresiden | url = http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/iriks/politikk/article1683247.ece | work = [[Aftenposten]] | date = 7 March 2007 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref>}}

=== Dahle (2007-2010) ===
[[Image:Torstein-dahle.jpg|thumb|Dahle, the former leader of Red]]
[[Torstein Dahle]] was unanimously elected party leader by members of the Workers' Communist Party and the Red Electoral Alliance in February 2007.<ref>{{cite news | page = 8 | title = På Topp: Torstein Dahle blir | work = [[Bergens Tidende]] | date = 25 January 2007 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref> This was met with criticism by outsiders, who claimed that Dahle would not be able to lead the party in a "new direction". The then leader of the Workers' Communist Party, [[Ingrid Baltzersen]], was elected the party's [[Deputy Leader]].<ref>{{cite news | page = | author = Lønna, Eline | title = RV-lederen vil lede nytt parti | work = [[Klassekampen]] | date = 24 January 2007 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref>

On 23 July 2007, Dahle became subject to media attention when he said that the [[Taliban]] and other Afghan rebels had the full right to fight Norwegian soldiers stationed in [[Afghanistan]].<ref>{{cite news | author = Lecomte, Bjørn | title = Full rett til å kjempe mot NATO-soldater | url = http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=153500 | work = [[Verdens Gang]] | date = 23 July 2007 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 17 December 2009 }}</ref> The attention occurred only days later with the death of a [[Royal Norwegian Army|Norwegian army officer]] in the [[Logar Province]] as a Norwegian military unit came under hostile fire. Dahle later replied to the criticism, saying that he did not support the death of Norwegian military personnel.<ref>{{cite news |author1=Lecomte, Bjørn |author2=Tommelstad, Bjørnar | title = Styrkene måtte skyte seg ut - Erfaren norsk offiser drept i Afghanistan | url = http://www.vg.no/pub/vgart.hbs?artid=153480 | work = [[Verdens Gang]] | date = 23 July 2007 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 17 December 2009 }}</ref>

When planning for the [[Norwegian local elections, 2007|2007 local elections]], the party thought it had a realistic chance of gaining the mayorship in three municipalities. During the local elections, the party was forced to campaign under the banner of the Red Electoral Alliance, as the [[Election Committee (Parliament of Norway)|Election Committee]] had not approved its new name.<ref>{{cite news | page = | author = Mo, Helene | title = Rødt har ordførervyer | work = [[Dagsavisen]] | date = 12 March 2007 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref>

Election researcher [[Bernt Aardal]] believed that Red would be able win votes from voters who usually voted for the [[Socialist Left Party (Norway)|Socialist Left Party]]. The reasoning behind this was that the Socialist Left became part of the ruling [[Red-Green Coalition]], and would constantly need to make compromises with the two other parties in the coalition. When confronted with his research, he replied, "This is not a large voter group. We've looked at some polls in the past that RV would give the party one or two seats in Parliament. It is difficult to say whether the new party will make a difference."<ref>{{cite news |author1=Engan, Øyvind |author2=Sørås, Trond | title = Partiet Rødt er født | work = [[Verdens Gang]] | page = 7 | date = 11 March 2007 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref>

After experiencing what many described as a bad election, [[Trond Andresen]], a leading political figure within the party, resigned. He claimed the party was going in a downward spiral and would eventually meet the same fate as the [[Communist Party of Norway]] if it did not re-new its image.<ref>{{cite news | author = Sjøli, Hans Petter | title = Det går som med NKP | work = [[Klassekampen]] | page = 6 | date = 17 September 2009 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref> Among several known candidates that officially announced or were rumoured to be candidates for Party Leader were [[Bjørnar Moxnes]],<ref>{{cite news |author1=Skurdal, Mari |author2=Larsen, Christiane Jordheim | title = Unge vil fram i Rødt | work = [[Klassekampen]] | page = 6 | date = 18 September 2009 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref> [[Mona Bjørn]],<ref>{{cite news | title = Generasjonsskifte | work = [[Klassekampen]] | page = 4 | date = 21 September 2009 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref> [[Asgeir Drugli]], [[Mimir Kristjansson]], and [[Ingeborg Steinholt]].<ref>{{cite news | author = Sjøli, Hans Petter | title = Sikter mot ledervervet | work = [[Klassekampen]] | page = 4 | date = 21 September 2009 | language = Norwegian | accessdate = 15 December 2009 }}</ref>

===Thomassen (2010-2012)===
[[File:BjørnarMoxnes.jpg|thumb|Bjørnar Moxnes, leader of the Red Party since 2012.]]
[[Turid Thomassen]] was voted in as party leader of Red in May 2010. Thomassen has long experience from both the Workers' Communist Party and the Red Electoral Alliance. The former leader of Red Youth (2004-2006), [[Bjørnar Moxnes]], became deputy leader.

===Moxnes (2012-present)===
[[Bjørnar Moxnes]] was elected party leader in May 2012.


== Youth programs ==
== Youth programs ==

Revision as of 16:22, 8 March 2018

Red Party
Rødt
LeaderBjørnar Moxnes
Founded11 March 2007 (2007-03-11) (17 years ago)
Merger ofRed Electoral Alliance and Workers' Communist Party
HeadquartersDronningens Gate 22
Oslo
Youth wingRed Youth
IdeologyMarxism[1]
Revolutionary socialism[1]
Democratic socialism[2]
Eco-socialism[3]
Feminism[4]
Anti-racism[5]
Anti-capitalism[6]
Political positionFar-left
European affiliationNone
International affiliationNone
ColoursRed
Storting
1 / 169
County Councils[7]
10 / 728
Municipal Councils[7]
80 / 10,781
Website
rødt.no

The Red Party (Bokmål: Rødt, Nynorsk: Raudt, Northern Sami: Ruoksat) is a Norwegian far-left[8][9][10] political party, and the leading party to the left of the Socialist Left Party in Norway. The party was founded in March 2007 by a merger of the Workers' Communist Party and the Red Electoral Alliance. Bjørnar Moxnes is the Red Party's current leader.

Red states that a classless society is its ultimate goal in its own official political program. They further specify that "this is what Karl Marx called communism"[11]. The label is a result of many of the party's leading members promoting communist values, either currently or previously; notable examples are Erling Folkvord and former party leader, Torstein Dahle. The party's main principles are based on replacing capitalism with a socialist society, including a strong public sector and nationalization of large businesses, while its core ideology espouses the revolutionary socialist aims for "the workers" to "take the power", and the creation of new legislatures.[1] The party however makes clear that it does not support the "armed revolution" formerly espoused by its predecessors.[12]

Red has 10 county council representatives nationwide and 80 municipal representatives. In the 2013 parliamentary election, it was the largest party which failed to win a seat. The party entered parliament in the 2017 election, winning 2.4% of the votes and its first seat ever in the Storting. The last time a far-left party had representation in the Storting was when its predecessor party, the Red Electoral Alliance, won a seat in the 1993 election.

Ideology and positions

Red is a far-left party like both of its predecessors, the Red Electoral Alliance and the Workers' Communist Party. It favours the welfare state and high taxation upon the wealthy as a means of tackling inequality.[13] Since its formation, notable groups have merged with the party, the most notable example of this being the Trotskyist International Socialists.[14] The party consists of various internal factions, including the Trotskyists, Marxist-Leninists, and democratic socialists.[15]

One of Red's important projects is protecting the Norwegian welfare state, calling for the government to spend 30-40 billion NOKs on the public sector to counter the financial crisis.[16] Red politician Mimir Kristjansson claimed that the "right wing parties have proved their willingness to dismantle the very foundation of our welfare state". According to him, the socialist parties, along with the Norwegian Labour Party, need to be forced into a policy which strongly protects the welfare model for the weak.[17] The party advocates that no person should earn more than 1,500,000 kroner (about 200,000 Euros) per year, and wants 100% taxation for earnings over this.[18][needs update]

The 2009 election results, which were regarded as disappointing, led to some turmoil within the party, with some members wanting the party to move ideologically closer to the Socialist Left Party.[19]

After being challenged on the party's position on liberal democracy in 2012, party leader Moxnes wrote in Aftenposten that "free speech, freedom of association, free elections, free media, and independent courts that guarantee rule of law for individuals are fundamental for a socialistic society".[20]

In its official political program, the party says that its ultimate goal is a classless society, which it describes as "what Karl Marx called communism", and that "the Red Party bases its understanding of society on Marxist theory".[8][21] In 2014, there was large support within the party to highlight the communist revolutions in China and in Russia as "positive", with half the committee drafting the program supporting an early draft that stated this, although it was ultimately decided that it would not be included in the final program.[22][23]

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Youth programs

Linn-Elise Øhn Mehlen: current leader of Red Youth
Main article: Red Youth (Norway)

The party's youth wing is Red Youth, which was founded in 1963, preceding the foundations of the Red Electoral Alliance and the Workers' Communist Party. The current leader of the youth wing is Linn-Elise Øhn Mehlen. Red Youth was highly supportive of the merging of the Red Electoral Alliance and the Communist Party, with Sandra Johansen, leader of Red Youth in Brønnøysund, claiming "it to have been difficult to be a youth party under two different parent parties".[24]

In a widely publicized report, former Deputy Leader of the Red Electoral Alliance Marte Mjøs Persen left the party, believing there was a big generational gap between the older and younger members of Red. She further claimed that only the older members, who have their origins from the foundation of the Red Electoral Alliance and the Workers' Communist Party, controlled the party. Persen's statements were met with positive response by fellow party members and outsiders. Mathias Furevik, who had served as Dahle's campaign manager, agreed with her accusations. Bergen City Council representative, Stine Akre, reluctantly agreed with Persen's accusations, and said: "Red is now a party for middle-aged men, and has not been able to get rid of the generation gap. It also means that many younger people will get burned out before they move the party's direction."[25] Persen shortly after joined the Norwegian Labour Party.

Election history and polls

In the 2007 county election, Red won 2.1% of the votes.[26] After the 2007 county elections, Knut Henning Thygesen became the party's first and only mayor elected through a direct mayor election in the municipality of Risør.[27] In the local 2011 county elections, the party won 1.7% of the votes. In the 2009 parliamentary election, the result was 1.3%, giving the party no seats in the parliament. The party came closest to winning a seat in Oslo, where it took nearly 4% of the vote.[9]

Electoral researcher Bernt Aardal noted that the Red Party would have won a single seat in Oslo, had it not been for the fact that the voting system is designed to ensure that more MPs come from rural areas.[28] The Oslo constituency was considered to be where the party had its best chance of gaining a seat in the 2013 parliamentary election, but they once again failed to win any seats. In 2017, the party broke through in Oslo with party leader Moxnes being elected for the first time.

Electoral results

Parliament
Election year # of
overall votes 		% of
overall vote 		# of
overall seats won 		+/-
2009 36,219 1.35
0 / 169
 Steady 0
2013 30,751 1.08
0 / 169
 Steady 0
2017 70,341 2.39
1 / 169
 Increase 1
Local
Year Vote % Type
2007 1.9
2.1 		Municipal
County
2011 1.5
1.7 		Municipal
County
2015 2.0
2.2 		Municipal
County

Party leaders

References

  1. ^ a b c "Hva står de politiske partiene for?". Nasjonal digital læringsarena (in Norwegian). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  2. ^ "Demokrati". Rødt (in Norwegian). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  3. ^ "Miljø". Rødt (in Norwegian). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  4. ^ "Feminisme". Rødt (in Norwegian). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  5. ^ "Antirasisme". Rødt (in Norwegian). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "Anti-kapitalisme". Rødt (in Norwegian). {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |authors= ignored (help)
  7. ^ a b "Raudt". Valg 2011 (in Norwegian). Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 15 September 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Moxnes ny partileder i Rødt". NRK/NTB (in Norwegian). 6 May 2012.
  9. ^ a b "Rødt". Store Norske Leksikon, 10 September 2013 Template:No icon
  10. ^ "Rødts historie". TV 2. 19 February 2009.
  11. ^ "Rødt - Fordi fellesskap fungerer". xn--rdt-0na.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 4 January 2018.
  12. ^ "Dropper væpnet revolusjon". Bergensavisen. 05.02.2007.
  13. ^ Hellesnes, Pål (12 September 2009). "Dette står det om". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). p. 6. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  14. ^ Aspevoll, Tone Foss (25 September 2007). "IS in i Rødt". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  15. ^ Sjøli, Hans Petter; Bratlie, Tom Henning (4 April 2009). "Vil ha et liberalt Rødt". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). p. 11. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  16. ^ Horn, Anders; Larsen, Christiane Jordheim (9 October 2009). "Noen må kreve mindre". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). p. 4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  17. ^ Larsen, Christiane Jordheim (23 September 2009). "Krever endring i Rødt". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). p. 4. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  18. ^ Siv Sandvik: Rødt vil stjele rødgrønne sofavelgere Template:No icon NRK, retrieved 15 April 2013
  19. ^ Brox, Johan; Bratlie, Tom Henning (12 August 2009). "Rødt på vippen?". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). p. 8. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  20. ^ Bjørnar Moxnes: Et sosialistisk folkestyre Template:No icon Aftenposten, 27 August 2012
  21. ^ "Program of the Red party". Rødt.
  22. ^ "Rødt holder på kommunismen [Red holds on to communism]". VG/NTB (in Norwegian). 11 May 2014.
  23. ^ "Mao-strid i Rødt". Bergens Tidende. 24 April 2014.
  24. ^ Priésner, Jakob (17 March 2007). "Del av norsk partihistorie". Brønnøysunds Avis (in Norwegian). {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  25. ^ Horn, Anders; Sjøli, Hans Petter (12 February 2009). "Generasjonsopprør i Rødt". Klassekampen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 17 December 2009.
  26. ^ "Valgresultat 2007". NRK (in Norwegian). 10 October 2007. Retrieved 13 February 2009.
  27. ^ "Norges første RV-ordfører". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 7 March 2007. Retrieved 12 February 2009.
  28. ^ "Rødgrønt flertall uansett valgordning". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). 28 September 2009. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
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