You're forgetting the other side of the coin is that politicians are generally underpaid & often incompetent.
If you can secure enough influence to protect the right interests, your bread can be buttered for a long time. It can be as minor as securing a certain contract for sbdy
Conversation
As for activism, well, yes. But it's something that has worked extremely well for Norwegian political parties, historically speaking.
With govts commonly holding a parliamentary minority, it's actually fairly easy to undercut them on key votes (thus securing outsize influence).
1
Replying to
In some ways that does sound like a better situation, but does it lead to deadlock?
1
Replying to
There is a parliamentary mechanism, a vote of confidence, where the cabinet calls a vote on an issue. If they lose the vote, they disband the cabinet.
It's a way to stop minor parties bullying too much when they have the deciding vote, and also helps remove weak governments.
2
Replying to
Interesting... so does policy generally flow through with reasonable expedience? Or are there periods of only risk-averse policy-making?
1
Replying to
That strongly depends on the motivations of parliament, but it's generally not a good idea to advertise your indecisiveness while in power...
That said, Norwegian culture is generally quite risk-averse, so most policy-making until recently has reflected that.
1
However, despite a bunch of cool parliamentary mechanisms, there is also some bullshit.
Coalitions are made at the discretion of the constituent parties, so you can gain a "majority" by combining three or four parties.
2
Also, it's a fucking democracy. There's nothing preventing voters from sawing their own legs off, or politicians from fucking up.
As they've done for two terms now...
1
Replying to
Do you see anywhere in the world where things are going well for social democrats? Any centre left position is being squeezed. Often it's their own fault.
Even all the chest-puffing about Corbyn's "accomplishments" is about reducing a minority after his party fucked itself.
1
1
Leftists like to gloat about the collapse of neoliberalism, but it's really the collapse of the entire center.
People want change. Big change. They're not expecting it from current establishment parties, and they're also not expecting it from "status quo, but different" parties.
I suspect the reason they're getting more traction in the anglosphere is the local political orthodoxy.
The US and UK have pushed themselves so far to the right since the 70s, that moderate leftists are now seen as extreme.
1