The left plays itself out over the from the sidelines in Norwegian politics - again

Problems loom large for the Left. And well there is just the way it used to be the last decades for the poor the party that was the country's first, and once the largest. Who fought for unionsoppløsning and universal suffrage, which was the foremost proponent of the modern, liberal state and the start of the welfare state. That time has won their cases, but lacked new ones to build excitement and loyalty around.

Why is the Left in crisis

For a party that since the partisplittelsen in the EC case in 1972, has been struggling to get over the threshold, is the last measurements still alarmingly bad: First, Dagbladet sjokkmåling at 2.2 per cent, right after that regjeringsplattformen was ready, so:
2.7%
2.5%
3.9 per cent
2.6 per cent

Liberal party problems are many and complex, but they have two large main challenges - and fails at both. One of them was even clearer today as it emerged that party leader Trine Skei Grande has a burgeoning distriktsopprør against him in the own party. We will come back to.

Party Liberal party the big challenge is that they lack a social identity. Their support and policies are primarily related to issues, not to specific interest groups. This in contrast to, for example, the centre party, which has a clear grounding in agriculture. Historieprofessor Einar Lie has compared the two, and said that the Left is a party that only has the superstructure and no basis. The centre party has no superstructure, only basis.

- the Progress on the way towards the underpass

is totally dependent of their cases. And like any exclusive party, they'll need a large very important topic where the voters are the best. The last few years has the climate and miljøsaken been their by far the most important and most prolific politikkområde.

But as part of a majority coalition, together with the progress party and the Right - without much boost from Better - they had to swallow the compromise. Their a little colourless minister on the area, the climate and miljøminister Ola Elvestuen, has been given the task to bravely face them. The left is in position, they get the green light and makes a bourgeois government greener. The price for popen is that those files down the carbon footprint, and thus loses the case they need to mobilize.

individual , has Left for the time one leg to stand on: the district Left. And now begins also the foot to grumble. A few weeks ago it was revealed in the VG that Trine Skei Grande internally should have called the popular Left-mayor Alfred Bjørlo in Eid municipality "psykopaten". A very unfortunate leak, and more harmful than the enkeltsaken would indicate. For in distriktspolitikken has Left a problem. The party has traditionally been strong in some districts, particularly on the west coast. When the centre/periphery, the struggle between the districts and the cities, has been a central political issue, has Left little to respond with. There are two reasons for it: Strong forces in the party has the last years tried to reinforce the Left more like a classical, liberal party of the european brand. It has not been successful. Stortingsgruppa their now bears more the stamp of the district Left than the liberal, urban Left. At the same time is Left in a bourgeois government relating to a policy which is perceived as centralising, and how the Left might not have been so keen to balance this impression. The left has had little to respond with, apart from the out-migration of state jobs to rural areas.

- It is allowed to say I have lost my footing

I don't think the Left-voters looking dreamily away towards the centre party. The defense is still thin when the centre party day in and day out hammering on the government. District-the Left has little policy to sell to their constituents. It is symptomatic that the party office today respond with that they have set down a distriktspolitisk variety - they see the threat and take it seriously.

How in the short term to be land for the country's oldest party, is not good to see. The attempt to reindyrke itself as a classically liberal party has not taken before. Here, it is probably a new leader to implement such a process. Distriktskampen to be tough to win with no new, substantive issues. And regjeringssamarbeidet will continue to prey on klimaprofilen.

Trine Skei Grande came in as party leader and managed to lift the Left to 6.3 per cent in the municipal elections in 2011 - its best result in nearly 40 years. At the parliamentary election in 2013, there were crept down to 5.2, and in 2017 karret as far as over sperregrensa by 4.4 per cent. It has not helped to go in the government.

It may seem that the Left keeps on playing itself out over the from the sidelines in Norwegian politics. Again. It will in that case not be so surprising. It is hard work to be relevant in politics when you are missing major issues, and a distinct identity.

Trine has lost his moorings