Norwegian democracy has never been weaker in modern times than it is now.
Oagal has written to almost every Norwegian editor to make them aware that as few as 2,580 people decide who gets to sit in the Norwegian Parliament. Editors and the entire politics industry are aware of this, and some have mentioned it. That’s why it’s “no longer news” — old news — and something that doesn’t make it into the headlines during the election campaign.
An election campaign is naturally good media material. But the fact that voters no longer actually choose individual candidates, and that The 2025 parliamentary election was half decided on June 2nd, with 80 preselected members of parliament has no impact on the media coverage. It shows how successful the final transfer of power at the national level from the people to the parties has been.
Given the power grab that has taken place, all Norwegian media outlets ought to be wearing black armbands in mourning.
For something fundamentally wrong occurred when the new Norway’s new electoral law was passed in 2023 and implemented on May 1, 2024. . The implementation meant that Norwegian parliamentary elections now follow the closed-list principle. This means that the parties themselves decide 100 percent who appears on their party lists and in what order. As a result, voters have no opportunity to influence the choice of candidates within the party they vote for.
However, this applies only to parliamentary elections. National politicians have granted themselves protection from the people that regional and local politicians are not afforded. In other words, they acknowledge the importance of personal voting—but do not want it applied to themselves.
Op-ed in Dagsavisen: In 2025, the Norwegian Politicians Elect Themselves
When closed party lists are allowed to stand as the sole electoral system without any personal voting options—such as those found in New Zealand’s mixed member proportional (MMP) system—it undermines one of the two core principles of democracies: The people choose their representatives to the national assemblies.
We no longer have a system of popular representation, but one of organizational representation.
The second fundamental principle has long since been eliminated in Norwegian democracy. That principle is that the people participate in and make decisions through direct democracy, primarily in the form of deliberative processes, referendums, and citizens’ initiatives.
Democracy was founded on this. In Norway, it is gone. There have only been six national advisory referendums since 1905. Norway therefore appears to be a purely representative system – but it is worse than that. Since citizens no longer elect their representatives but only vote for parties, Norway has ended up with party rule. Party members demand the people’s trust – yet they themselves have no trust in the people’s ability to participate or make decisions; in other words, no trust in the very foundation of democracy.
This leaves everything up to the parties. The election and the campaign come with no surprises, as voters can no longer influence the ranking of candidates to promote the good ones and strike out the bad, or add candidates from other party lists—something that could have allowed capable politicians to enter Parliament even if their personal support or that of their party list wasn’t strong enough.
Following the introduction of the closed party list system, the election campaign has more than ever become a job application for parliamentary politicians and their support teams – people who have spent their entire lives as career politicians with few or no alternative career paths.
In this desperate struggle, it becomes more important than ever to appease voters during elections – while between elections, it becomes harder than ever for citizens to influence politicians, as they now hold all the power themselves. Campaign issues become focused on buying votes. This also leads to growing polarization, similar to what we see in two-party systems like the U.S. and the U.K. – between parties and people, with families, colleagues, and friends no longer speaking to each other, or at least avoiding political conversation. There is more hatred and less unity.
When politicians’ voters have become their own party members – in reality, a party leadership that is now more powerful than ever – we will see even more party loyalty and even fewer independent members of parliament. They will be increasingly forced to stay in favor with the party and its leadership, keep silent, and vote against their own ethics, convictions, and the needs of their electoral districts.
Also read; Worried? Here is the Oagal Model for Strengthening Norwegian Democracy
At the same time, long-term and prudent planning—such as seen in China—is increasingly sidelined in this Norwegian political landscape. This may weaken Norway’s competitiveness, welfare, and prosperity, and becomes part of a downward spiral in which a party-controlled Parliament makes short-term, populist, and at times incompetent decisions to secure the actors another four years in office.
De fleste av artiklene på Oagal er utarbeidet av redaksjonen. Innholdet fra redaksjonen er det fortløpende redaksjonelle arbeidet i Oagal. Redaksjonen driver undersøkende journalistikk, utvikler ideer til saker og utarbeider artikler ved hjelp av ulike tilgjengelige kilder og verktøy. Meningsbærende innhold og også reportasjer bærer skribentens navn.
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