Norway’s political parties received nearly NOK 100 million (USD 12.5 million) in donations from private individuals, companies and organizations last year. The Labour Party attracted the most, aided by funding from labour unions.
The numbers were collected by state statistics bureau SSB (Statistics Norway), which reported that Labour (Arbeiderpartiet) received NOK 34.6 million with 80 percent of it coming from labour organizations. The Conservative Party (Høyre) received NOK 27 million in donations, mostly from commercial entities.
Together they pulled in more than half the money donated during the national election year of 2017, when the parties tend to receive the most. The total of NOK 99 million compares to just NOK 52 million in total donations in 2016. In 2015, when local elections were held, the parties attracted NOK 96 million.
The donations come in addition to public funding, which amounted to NOK 497 million. The taxpayer support makes up 67 percent of the parties’ total revenues.
newsinenglish.no staff
