Norway’s Christian Democrats quit government negotiations

The Christian Democrat Party will no longer participate in multilateral discussions with Norway’s other conservative parties over the new government after declining to support the populist Progress Party.

Norway held its election on September 11th. The outgoing minority government consisting of the Conservative Party and the populist-libertarian Progress Party, and the two small parties on which it relies for support, the Liberal Party and the Christian Democratic Party, together won a majority of the seats. So, it is presumed that the current government will be continued.

In amiable talks following the election, these four parties looked to see if they could form a majority government, and it doesn't appear possible. The Christian Democrats remain suspicious of the Progress Party. It looks as though Prime Minister Erna Solberg will continue to have to thread the needle and secure passage of the budget and other legislation by working on a case by case basis working with parties not in government.

Minority government isn't a bad option, when there are several small parties in parliament making the formation of a cohesive majority coalition difficult or even impossible. I would recommend Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany consider this option rather than consider herself forced into a shotgun marriage with the Green Party.

Pretty shocking. The Progress party is what Americans would think of as being conservative: economically libertarian, largely Christian social values, favoring stricter immigration policies which favor integration, supportive of global trade but also national sovereignty. They don’t have any of the “racist” baggage of some right-wing parties in Europe.

The Progress Party is the best!

The Christian Democrats of Norway are being naive. But, maybe, they are providing some Never-Progress types a way, indirectly, of keeping a center-right coalition in government.

With p.r. here in the U.S., the Republicans and Libertarians would have a majority.

With run-off voting (which is what I like), we would have won every state Trump had won plus: ME (at large), MN, NH, NV, CO and NM (I add the libertarian and conservative vote to the Republican vote; and the green to the Democratic vote). We would have won every Senate race we won plus NH and NV last year, MN and VA in 2014, and IN, MO, MT, ND and VA in 2012. We would have 61 seats in the Senate and wouldn’t have to worry about McCain or any other grandstander.

The center-right, to include the conservatives, libertarians and populists, are the majority practically everywhere in the world. We are not dependent on quirks in voting rules. They tend to hurt us rather than help us.

With PR here both the GOP and rats would fracture into 2 or 3 parties each. I don’t know if that would be so good.

ME has instituted instant runoff voting for some races, pleasing liberals, it’s been challenged in the courts and I don’t know where it stands now. It could help Angus King get reelected without having to worry about the regular rat and the green party costing him.

I’ve thought it might be useful for GOP primaries.

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