News of Norway, November 10, 2002
The Norwegian Labor Party was very instrumental in rebuilding Norway after the devastation of the Second World War. For 60 years after the war, it was the biggest political party in Norway and spent most of the period as the sole party in government. Toward the end of the century, however, much was lost for the former parliamentary giant.
On Sunday, after years of ranking second in the party after Torbjørn Jagland, former Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg could finally mount the podium of the party’s National Convention and give his acceptance speech as the new party leader.
"I look forward to working with all of you," he told the convention after his election. "The Labor Party is going to be a party of open debates, a party where opinions are shared, and where we’ll develop new strategies together. The Labor Party is not going to be a party that suffers from internal conflict, power positioning and solo acts by its leaders."
The new leader, as expected, was unanimously elected by the convention, as was the entire line-up for the party’s new central committee.
According to current polls, the Labor Party holds the support of only 20 per cent of the electorate, a far cry from the 38 per cent it achieved at the general elections in 1993. The latest polls show the Labor Party as Norway’s second largest party. On top of the list stands the right-wing Progress Party with its 32.5 per cent of the votes. For Jens Stoltenberg, the major task ahead is to reverse the downward spiral the Labor party has been in ever since Gro Harlem Brundtland resigned from the party leadership in 1996.
"Our goal is to become the biggest political party in Norway again," Stoltenberg told the Norwegian internet newspaper Nettavisen after securing the party leadership.