According to microedu, Norway is a constitutional monarchy. The head of state is the king. Royal house – the dynasty of Schleswig-Holstein-Zogdenburg-Glücksburg: Harald V, King N. (since January 17, 1991), born February 21, 1937; Sonya, Queen of Norway (4 July 1937); Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway (20 July 1973) and Princess Martha Louise (22 September 1971). King Harald V of Norway ruled that Princess Martha Louise after February 1, 2002 lost her title and all privileges associated with it after her marriage and her decision to continue working in her own company, Prinsesse Martha Louises Kulturformidling.
Administratively, the country is divided into 20 regions (fylke), including the largest cities of Oslo and Bergen.
According to the current Constitution (May 17, 1814), with subsequent changes, succession to the throne is transmitted in a straight line, regardless of gender. The king of Norway formally retained fairly broad powers. He appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister, approves laws, declares war and makes peace, is the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and head of the State Church.
Legislative power is exercised by the Storting (165 deputies), elected by universal equal and secret ballot according to the proportional system for a term of 4 years. At the first session of the Storting, the deputies elect from their membership 1/4 of the deputies forming the Lagting as the highest deliberative body, the rest constitute the Odelsting. Executive power formally belongs to the king, who appoints the State Council (government), which is formed, as a rule, from the parties of the parliamentary majority. All executive power in practice belongs to the government, headed by the prime minister.
The county (provinces) is administered by the king-appointed fülkesman (governor), who has a fülkesting (regional council), consisting of chairmen of the councils of rural and urban communes. Each commune has an elected body of local self-government – an assembly of representatives.
The judicial system of Norway is formed by the courts of first and second instances and the Supreme Court – the highest body of the judiciary; all judges are appointed by the king.
The right to vote is enjoyed by citizens who have reached the age of 18 and have lived in the country for at least 5 years.
An important feature of the internal political life of Norway is the establishment of a kind of balance between the social and political forces of the country. The current so-called. bipolar party-political system, which has been eroded in recent times. At one extreme are the social-reformist Norwegian Workers’ Party (CHP – since 1887) (Det Norske Arbeiderparti, part of the Socialist International) and the left socialists (Socialist People’s Party – Sosialistiske Folkeparti, founded in 1961); on the other – all the centre-right bourgeois parties: Hoyre (since 1885) – conservatives, the country’s first political party – Venstre (Venstre – since 1884) – liberals, the clerical Christian People’s Party (HNP – Kristelig Folkeparti, founded in 1933) and the Party Center (Senterpartiet, until 1959 it was called the Peasant Party, from May until the end of 1959 – the Norwegian Democratic Party, founded in 1920). With such a balance of power, the populist Progress Party (PP – Fremskrittspartiet – founded in 1973) has a significant influence, with which both left and right parties have so far refused to cooperate.
There were no irreconcilable differences between the centre-right parties in general and the Social Democrats. In fact, a corporate decision-making system has developed and is functioning, and the role of the coordinator in this structure (the state – trade unions – entrepreneurs) was assumed by the representatives of the authorities who pursue the course of “social partnership”: the conclusion of collective agreements on wages and other working conditions, the activities of labor courts and settlement of labor conflicts. The leading links in the partnership system are, on the one hand, associations of entrepreneurs, and on the other (since 1899 nationwide) – the Central Association of Trade Unions of Norway (COPN). The system of cooperation between business and the state is also complemented by informal ties.
The Confederation of Norwegian Entrepreneurs (200,000 people) plays the main role in the centralized structure of business unions, while the Union of Shipowners, the Industrial Union, and the Union of Farmers and Producers enjoy the dominant influence. The TsOPN presents St. 40 branch trade unions (700 thousand members), and in the Confederation of Norwegian civil servants (30 branch unions, even a unique union of pensioners) there are 120 thousand members. Influential: the Cooperative Association (founded in 1906, 0.5 million shareholders), the Union of Tenants (1939), the Workers’ Educational Union (1931), and the Workers’ Union of Youth (1903).
The main conditions for the sale of labor force are developed every 2 years at the negotiations between the KNP and the CPC in the form of framework and general agreements. The first basic agreement was concluded in 1935 and still serves as an exemplary “labor code”.
In the 1960s – early. 70s a sharp extra-parliamentary struggle unfolded around the problem of Norway’s membership in the Common Market, its main result was the refusal to join the organization. The 1972 referendum on this issue caused a kind of “trauma” to the Norwegian party-political system. In the 1994 referendum, opponents of the country’s membership in the EU managed to achieve their second victory.
The dominance of the CHP in Norwegian politics came to an end. 1980 – early. 90s According to the results of the last regular elections (September 10, 2001), the balance of power was as follows: CHP 24.3% of the vote (43 seats), Hoire 21.2% (38), Progress Party 14.6% (26), SLP 12.5 % (23), HNP 12.4% (22), PC 5.6% (10), Venstre 3.9% (2) and Party of the Coast 1.7% (1). Based on them, a second coalition center-right government (Höyre, HNP, HRC, Venstre) was formed, headed by H.-M. Bunnevik. Among the party-political forces, the struggle is still being waged mainly around the reduction of tax rates, the role of the state and social benefits. Recently, social movements have been fighting against the negative effects of globalization that violate traditional foundations.
