Editing Progress Party (Norway) (section)

=== 2001–2005: Bondevik II years ===
In the [[2001 Norwegian parliamentary election|2001 parliamentary election]], the party lost the gains it had made according to opinion polling but maintained its position from the 1997 election, it got 14.6% and 26 members in the parliament. The election result allowed them to unseat the [[Norwegian Labour Party|Labour Party]] government of [[Jens Stoltenberg]] and replace it with a [[Bondevik's Second Cabinet|three-party coalition]] led by [[Christian Democratic Party (Norway)|Christian Democrat]] [[Kjell Magne Bondevik]]. However, the coalition continued to decline to govern together with the Progress Party as they considered the political differences too large. The Progress Party eventually decided to tolerate the coalition, as it promised to invest more in defence, open more private hospitals and open for more competition in the public sector.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/1603256.stm|work=[[BBC Online]] |title=Norway far-right sets new course|date=16 October 2001|access-date=27 August 2010}}</ref> In 2002 the Progress Party again advanced in the opinion polls and for a while became the largest party.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.klassekampen.no/artikler/nyheter/30521/article/item/null|work=[[Klassekampen]]|title=Høyre taper til Frp|trans-title=Conservative Party loses to the Frp|first=Bjørgulv|last=Braanen|author-link=Bjørgulv Braanen|date=2 May 2002|access-date=27 August 2010|language=no|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717135508/http://www.klassekampen.no/artikler/nyheter/30521/article/item/null|archive-date=17 July 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.klassekampen.no/artikler/nyheter/30752/article/item/null|work=[[Klassekampen]]|title=Trussel mot demokratiet|trans-title=A threat to democracy|first1=Espen|last1=Løkeland-Stai|author2=Marsdal, Magnus|author-link2=Magnus E. Marsdal|date=30 April 2002|access-date=27 August 2010|language=no|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717135528/http://www.klassekampen.no/artikler/nyheter/30752/article/item/null|archive-date=17 July 2011}}</ref>

The [[2003 Norwegian local elections|local elections of 2003]] were a success for the party. In 36 municipalities, the party gained more votes than any other; it succeeded in electing the mayor in only 13 of these,{{Sfn|Hagelund|2005|p=148}} but also secured 40 deputy mayor positions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.frp.no/no/Mot_oss/Historie//|publisher=FrP.no|title=Fremskrittspartiets historie: Konsolidering og kommunevalg|trans-title=History of the Progress Party: Consolidation and municipal elections|access-date=17 February 2010|language=no|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125145458/http://www.frp.no/no/Mot_oss/Historie/|archive-date=25 November 2009}}</ref> The Progress Party had participated in local elections since 1975, but until 2003 had only secured a mayoral position four times, all on separate occasions. The Progress Party vote in Os—the only municipality that elected a Progress Party mayor in 1999—increased from 36.6% in 1999 to 45.7% in 2003. The party also became the single largest in the counties of [[Vestfold]] and [[Rogaland]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/innenriks/valg/valg_2003/3086321.html|title=Frp størst i 36 kommuner|trans-title=Frp largest in 36 municipalities|publisher=[[Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation]]|date=16 September 2003|first=Hallvard|last=Notaker|access-date=27 August 2010|language=no}}</ref>

In the [[2005 Norwegian parliamentary election|2005 parliamentary elections]], the party again became the second largest party in the [[Parliament of Norway|Norwegian parliament]], with 22.1% of the votes and 38 seats, a major increase from 2001. Although the centre-right government of Bondevik which the Progress Party had tolerated since 2001 was beaten by the leftist [[Red-Green Coalition]], Hagen had before the election said that his party would no longer accept Bondevik as Prime Minister, following his consistent refusal to formally include the Progress Party in government.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/11/world/europe/11iht-norway.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Close result expected as Norwegians head to polls|date=11 September 2005|access-date=28 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/sep/13/1|work=[[The Guardian]]|title=Norwegian PM announces resignation|date=13 September 2005|access-date=28 August 2010}}</ref> For the first time, the party was also successful in getting members of parliament elected from all counties of Norway, and even became the largest party in three: [[Vest-Agder]], [[Rogaland]] and [[Møre og Romsdal]].<ref name="snl"/> After the parliamentary elections in 2005, the party also became the largest party in many opinion polls. The Progress Party led November 2006 opinion polls with a support of 32.9% of respondents, and it continued to poll above 25 percent during the following years.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.tns-gallup.no/default.aspx?did=9078387|title=FrP og Høyre går kraftig fram|trans-title=Strong advances for the Frp and the Conservative Party|publisher=[[TNS Gallup]]|access-date=11 November 2009|language=no}}{{dead link|date=December 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/norsk-politikk/artikkel.php?artid=195848|title=Fosser frem på diesel-opprør: Siv nær statsministerstolen|trans-title=Surges ahead because of diesel rebellion: Siv close to the prime minister's chair|work=[[Verdens Gang]]|first1=Lars Halvor|last1=Magerøy|first2=Bjørn|last2=Haugan|date=31 May 2008|access-date=11 November 2009|language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/norsk-politikk/artikkel.php?artid=528033|title=Frp størst på ny måling|work=[[Verdens Gang]]|date=4 June 2008|access-date=11 November 2009|language=no}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.vg.no/nyheter/innenriks/norsk-politikk/artikkel.php?artid=501050|title=Frp over 30 prosent på ny måling (NTB)|date=26 June 2008|access-date=11 November 2009|language=no|work=[[Verdens Gang]]}}</ref>