Arbeiderpartiets rolle i samepolitikken: Fra styringsparti til mellomstort parti

Abstract

From having been a significant force and the largest party in the Sami parliamentary election in 2009, the Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) slipped during the 2021 election from its position among the largest parties and now stands as a medium-sized party with 15 percent of the vote. This chapter employs a combination of qualitative interviews with politicians and a larger survey to elucidate this decline. The salience of Sami self-determination in Sami politics has increased over the last elections, which has placed the Labour Party in a challenging position, caught between the poles of NSR and the People of the North Party, with the latter in particular attracting many former Labour voters. The party has struggled to define its role in this political landscape, where its previous strength of participation across multiple levels has now become a growing source of conflict. The Labour Party’s Sami wing has limited influence on the party’s national politics, especially when Sami rights clash with substantial economic interests. The surge in rights-based politics associated with Sami self-determination, akin to the second dimension challenging the left-right spectrum in European politics, has become a more dominant force within Sami politics.