Norway

The bourgeoisie are preparing for an onslaught against working conditions in Norway. As we explained after the last general election, the Norwegian business class got what they desperately wanted: a right-wing government dedicated to the dismantling of the Norwegian welfare state and the weakening of the labour and trade union movement. Since the election, the right wing coalition government has been trying to introduce changes in labour laws that will legalise more flexible working practices: meaning increased exploitation of the Norwegian working class. The response of the labour movement has been immediate and decisive: a massive show of strength in the form of a general strike that also involved rallies in all the major cities of the country.

1.5 million workers went on strike yesterday in the biggest political strike in Norwegian history. Trade unions struck against the right-wing government’s attempts to reform labour laws.

The Norwegian working class got a rude shock this autumn. The right-wing government has brought austerity to Norway, following their counterparts in the rest of Europe. It is clear that even living in the one of the richest countries on the planet will not save you from the crisis of Capitalism.

As one of the richest countries in the world, you would have thought that Norway could escape austerity. Not so! The bourgeoisie and its new right-wing government are preparing massive attacks against the working class.

Norway, until recently was seen as one of the most politically stable countries in Europe. That was before the dramatic events of this summer, when Anders Breivik, an ultra-right-wing fascist killed 69 youth at the Labour Youth Organisation’s summer camp. Yesterday, his appearance in court reiterated how much Norway has changed in the recent period. Already in September an article in “Bloomberg” pointed out that the deepening global crisis of capitalism is beginning to come to the fore in countries that seemed to have escaped it, such as Norway.

The recent brutal and outrageous attack in Norway on the Scandinavian and international workers' movement was a huge shock, not only for those members of the Norwegian Labour Party Youth (AUF) who were at the summer cap at the island of Utøya, but also for the whole population of Scandinavia.