Loga sámegillii. The Sámi Parliament’s two largest parties have seen a large increase in members over the past year. – It is great that Sámi politics is engaging, says party leader Vibeke Larsen from Nordkalottfolket (Nkf). Nkf has increased its membership by as much as 55 per cent and is today the second largest party in the Sami Parliament. – We are a clear voice that does not always agree with the NSR and those who govern the Sami Parliament, Larsen believes is the reason for their increase. Nordkalottfolket’s leader Vibeke Larsen is happy about new members. Photo: Nordkalottfolket Nkf has not had any investment in recruiting new members. – But members have still come in. The Nkf gained 277 new members last year and now has a total of 777 members at the start of 2024. Waiting for the Nordkalott people Truck driver Thor Henrik Hansen from Børselv and Lakselv is one of the Nkf’s new members. Thor Henrik Hansen from Børselv felt seen when the Nordkalott people came on the field, he says. Photo: private He signed up in 2023 after he was refused to be included in the Sami Parliament’s electoral roll. Today he is included in the head count. – I joined the Nordkalottfolket because they pursue politics that I support, says Hansen. In previous years, he has followed the politics pursued in the Sámi Parliament, but it has not felt relevant to him. – Finally there is a party for us who live in coastal areas and who are both Norwegians, Kvens and Sámi, says Hansen. An increase for the largest party Nkf is a clear counter vote to NSR, which is currently in power in the Sami Parliament. Because the largest party in the Sami Parliament, the Norwegian Sami National Confederation (NSR), has also become bigger. They had an increase of 39 per cent members last year. NSR’s Beatrice Fløystad sees a connection between the Fosen actions and membership growth in the party. Photo: Marie Louise Somby / NSR – Of course, it gives a lot of motivation to keep working. We get a good feeling when we see that people want to be part of NSR and we know we are on the right track, says NSR leader Beatrice Fløystad. She sees the Fosen actions in connection with the party’s development. – We saw in both March and October that the number of members rose sharply in connection with the campaigns. I really believe that people have seen that they must be involved, because they have seen that it is useful to work with Sami issues and also get involved in the Sami Parliament, says the leader. NSR gained 439 new members last year and now has a total of 1,559 members. Three months after the decision in the Fosen case, it became clear that new developers wanted to build more wind power at Fosen. The Trondheim-based company Aneo is now scrapping its plans. Going toe to toe with each other Fløystad will not speculate on the background for Nkf’s increase. – The only thing I can say is that people have started to get more involved. It is not often that Nkf and NSR agree with each other. Earlier this year, Nkf was called frivolous by NSR’s parliamentary leader, Beaska Niillas. NSR and Nkf are rarely good friends in the Sami Parliament. Photo: Eilif Andreas Aslaksen / news But they agree on this: – It is clear that politics engages in such a way that at least the two largest parties get new members, says Vibeke Larsen in Nkf. news More polarized Sámi politics The two largest parties are growing enormously on each side of Sámi politics; Nordkalottfolket and the National Confederation of Norwegian Sami. Commitment increases. Sami politics mobilizes. The differences between the parties are becoming clearer. This is positive with polarization. We are moving towards a Sami parliamentary election that will be dominated by the opposite poles, but the other parties may end up in the shadows. Is this the first sign of devastating polarization? Danger for the smaller lots With increased polarization, the smallest lots are at risk. Small parties and individual lists have had great importance in the Sami Parliament. The lists have been wildcards in negotiations about the position in parliament. The largest parties have usually had to negotiate with individual lists and smaller parties in order to form a majority. The majority today consists of the NSR, the Center Party and Flyttsamelista. With one elected representative, Flyttsamelista became part of the “government” in the Sami Parliament, the Sami parliamentary council, and thus a full-time politician. The third largest party is also struggling. Several shop stewards in the Labor Party have left the party. NSR and NKF – two polar opposites In the Nordkalott people, they have a direct and confrontational way of speaking. They use well-known populist methods, where they highlight themselves as representatives of “the people” who are not respected by the “elite”, NSR – Norske Samers Riksforbund. NSR, for its part, has adopted more radical methods, such as actions and lawsuits against the government. Youth politicians and central NSR politicians support and participate in civil disobedience actions. And now the Sámi Parliament, led by NSR, has also announced a lawsuit against the state in the case of the electrification of Melkøya. The party mainly targets the government. Polarization – so what? Polarization has many characteristics. Here are some: Two opposing parties dominate the political debate. Voters tend to vote for more radical or extreme candidates/parties. The opposite poles are mobilizing and more people are getting involved in politics. The level of conflict increases. The exchange of words becomes sharper, where the most important thing is to show disagreement, rather than to find political solutions. Politicians and voters develop a hostile attitude towards political opponents. Political opponents dislike each other. Fewer nuances are heard. Other groups and political voices are becoming less visible in the public debate. The other parties are not getting bigger The Labor Party (Ap) is the third largest party in the Sámi Parliament. Since Ap is primarily a party outside the Sámi Parliament, they do not have figures on how large a proportion of the membership is Sámi, or what proportion of members support their Sámi political work, they inform news. This also applies to the Center Party, the Conservative Party and the Progressive Party. Birger Nymo (SáB) has not noticed an increase in his party. Photo: Eilif Aslaksen / news The Sami People’s Party – Sámi álbmotbellodat (SáB) does not have a central membership register either. – But I have not heard that there will be any major movements in the membership, says leader Birger Nymo (SáB). Árja has a membership register, but has also not seen major changes in membership numbers in the past year. More people must get involved In the future, Thor Henrik Hansen hopes that even more people will get involved in Sámi politics. Thor Henrik Hansen wants even more people to get involved in politics. Photo: Private – I tell my children that they must try to get more involved in politics. It is their future that is at stake. The fact that Nkf has increased its membership by 55 per cent shows that the commitment has something to do with it. It will also give Nkf more power and influence going forward, Hansen believes. – Of course it is useful to get involved! Published 08.07.2024, at 08.06 Updated 08.07.2024, at 08.12
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More people care about Sami politics – news Sápmi
