ABSTRACT
During the last few years, most of the county municipalities in Norway have considered co-operation within new regions. In the Norwegian context, this is a new development. In the last decade, the regions in Norway have lost the responsibility for several issues, including business support measures and hospitals, to national bodies (quangos). The parties on the right wing, the Conservative party and the populist Progressive Party, want to abolish regional government through elected bodies, and these parties have been gaining ground. In the public debate, the county municipalities have been busy defending themselves against further losses.
