The party was founded in 1973 as the Socialist Electoral League, an electoral coalition with the Communist Party, Socialist People's Party, Democratic Socialists - AIK, and independent socialists. In 1975, the coalition was turned into a unified political party. The party was largely founded as a result of the foreign policies prevalent at the time, with the socialists being opposed to Norwegian membership of the European Union (then known as the European Economic Community) and NATO. While currently having the official ideology of democratic socialism, the party also increasingly profiles itself as a supporter of feminism and environmentalism. It calls for a stronger public sector, more government involvement in the economy, and a strengthening of the social welfare net.