Dictionary

V

common abbreviation for the Liberal Party of Norway (Venstre), founded in 1884.

vote

the Storting takes a formal position on all issues it deals with. This usually happens at the end of a sitting, when the proposals in a committee recommendation are voted on. Usually, the results of the vote will show a majority for or against the proposal, but in certain issues proposals may also be carried or rejected unanimously .

vote of confidence

when a Government calls a vote of confidence in a matter, it means that it will resign if the vote goes against the Government.

whip

the person or persons in each party group responsible for the pairing off of Members who for various reasons must be away from the Storting for short periods. In this way, the relative distribution of parties is maintained during voting.

white paper

orientations of the Storting by the Government on various matters that the Government wishes the Storting to consider. Reports to the Storting are used when the Government wishes to raise a matter in the Storting without a draft resolution. It is also used when the Government wishes to withdraw a Bill. Until 1 October 2009 the term Report to the Odelsting was used when the Government wished to withdraw a Bill, and Report to the Storting was used when the Government wished to orientate the Storting on various aspects of state activities. In many parts of the English speaking world, both kinds of report are referred to as white papers.

written question (document no. 15)

Members of the Storting may send written questions to cabinet ministers. These questions must be answered in writing within six days.