eparation.*--Following the subsidence of
the excitement attending the separation the party alignments of
earlier days tended rapidly to reappear. The old issues, however, had
been disposed of, and in their place sprang up new ones, largely
social and economic in character. At the elections of 1906 the
subjects to which the Liberals gave most prominence were female
suffrage, old age pensions, and sickness and unemployment insurance.
The Michelsen government, which was essentially Conservative, issued a
moderate reform programme and, alleging that former party lines were
obsolete, called upon the citizens of all classes for support. The
elections were notable chiefly by reason of the fact that the Social
Democrats increased their quota in the Storthing to eleven. Despite
attacks of the more radical Left, the Michelsen cabinet stood firm (p. 587)
until October 28, 1907, when the premier, by reason of ill health, was
obliged to retire. Loevland, the minister of foreign affairs,
succeeded; but, March 14, 1908, on a vote of want of confidence, his
ministry was overthrown. A new cabinet was made up thereupon by the
Liberal leader, Gunnar Knudsen. At the elections of 1909--the first in
which women participated--this Liberal government lost the slender
majority which it had possessed, and January 27, 1910, it resigned.
Prior to the elections there were in the Storthing fifty-nine
Liberals, fifty-four Conservatives and Moderates, and ten Social
Democrats. Afterwards there were sixty-three Conservatives and
Moderates, forty-seven Liberals, eleven Social Democrats, and two
Independents. The popular vote of the Social Democrats was much in
excess of that at any former election, but it was so distributed that
the party realized from it but a single additional legislative seat.
Upon the resignation of Knudsen the premiership was offered to
Michelsen, whose health, however, precluded his accepting it. February
1, 1910, a Conservative-Moderate ministry was made up by Konow.
February 19, 1912, it was succeeded by another ministry of the same
type, under the premiership of the former president of the Storthing,
Bratlie. At the elections of November 12, 1912, the Government lost
heavily to the Liberals and to the Social Democrats. The socialist
quota now numbers twenty-three.[820]

[Footnote 820: A brief account of Norwegian
political parties to 1900 will be found in Lavisse
et Ramb