The Progress Party focuses on law and order, downsizing the bureaucracy and the public sector; the FrP self-identifies as an economic liberal party which competes with the left to represent the workers of Norway.[37][38] The party has officially opposed Norwegian membership in the European Union since 2016, after having been neutral on the issue before.[39] The Progress Party calls for a strict immigration policy, integration of immigrants and for the removal of illegal immigrants or foreigners who commit crimes. During its time in coalition government from 2013, the party oversaw the creation of a Minister for Integration and increased the process of deporting failed asylum seekers or migrants with criminal convictions.[40] It has been described as anti-immigration;[41] nevertheless, the FrP also supports free migration to and from the European Union through the European Economic Area as well as helping refugees through the United NationsConvention Relating to the Status of Refugees. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Progress Party has been amenable to receiving Ukrainian refugees.[42]
The Progress Party was founded by Anders Lange in 1973 as an anti-tax protest movement. Its development was greatly influenced by Carl I. Hagen, the party's long-standing leader between 1978 and 2006.[43][44]Siv Jensen served as the party leader between 2006 and 2021, when in February 2021 she announced that she would be stepping down at the next party convention in May.[45] She was succeeded by her deputy leader, Sylvi Listhaug on 8 May 2021.[46]
^"Norway election: Ruling Conservatives claim second term". BBC News. 12 September 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2022. Her conservative coalition with the anti-immigration Progress Party ran a campaign promising tax cuts, which it said would help to boost economic growth.
^ abWiggen, Mette (18 February 2021). "As Norway's far Right declines in popularity, a new populist force rises". openDemocracy. Retrieved 20 August 2022. However, as expected, the anti-immigration Progress Party, Fremskrittspartiet (FrP), has since demanded stricter control of borders, migrants and migrant labour due to the possibility of what it called 'import infection'.
^Nordsieck, Wolfram (2021). "Norway". Parties and Elections in Europe. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
^Cite error: The named reference Bjerkem2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Schultheis, Emily (12 September 2017). "What Right-Wing Populists Look Like in Norway". The Atlantic. Retrieved 20 August 2022. By any objective standard, the Progress Party is among the most successful right-wing populist parties in Europe ...