Kings Bay Affair

The affair was a dramatic episode in Norwegian history that portended the end of the Gerhardsen dynasty and the emergence of a more articulate and coherent political alternative in the non-socialist camp.

It is also credited with galvanizing the radical socialist wing of Norwegian politics in time for the EU debate nine years later.

This was the pretext, but the underlying issue was constitutional: the non-socialist coalition was protesting against what they perceived as a shift of power away from the legislative in favour of the executive branch in Norway.

In an interesting parliamentary twist, Sosialistisk Folkeparti (SF) proposed its own vote of no-confidence, which led to the Gerhardsen cabinet's resignation.

A photograph, published by Aftenposten, of Gerhardsen leaving the lectern at the Storting as John Lyng approaches it, the two crossing paths, has become an icon in Norwegian political history.