Norway’s left-wing opposition, headed by Labour’s Jonas Gahr Store, wins general election
- The five opposition parties were seen winning 98 of the 169 seats in parliament, enough to unseat the centre-right coalition headed by Erna Solberg
- The Labour Party and Store, who will in all likelihood become the next prime minister, could possibly even win an absolute majority in parliament
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Norway’s left-wing opposition headed by Labour Party leader Jonas Gahr Store won Monday’s general election after a campaign dominated by questions about the future of the key oil industry in western Europe’s largest producer.
The five opposition parties were seen winning 98 of the 169 seats in parliament, enough to unseat the centre-right coalition headed by Conservative Erna Solberg, according to estimates based on advance ballots.
More than 42 per cent of the electorate voted in advance.
The Labour Party and Store, who will in all likelihood become the next prime minister, could possibly even win an absolute majority in parliament with its preferred allies, the Centre Party and the Socialist Left.
That would eliminate the need to rely on the support of the two other opposition parties, the Greens and the communist Red Party and facilitate Store’s coalition-building negotiations, which already promise to be long and thorny.
“These results look very very promising, of course they’re still counting the final results but assuming that the prognosis is right, it looks like there is a very strong mandate for change,” Labour’s energy chief Espen Barth Eide said.
The possibility of a three-party coalition is “exactly the outcome we were hoping for and that means we can start negotiating in the coming days”.
The Greens had said they would only support a left-wing government if it vowed an immediate end to oil exploration in Norway, western Europe’s biggest oil producer.
Store has rejected that ultimatum.
A 61-year-old who campaigned against social inequality, Store has, like the Conservatives, called for a gradual transition away from the oil economy.
The report energised those who want to get rid of oil, both on the left and, to a lesser extent, the right.
The oil sector accounts for 14 per cent of Norway’s gross domestic product, as well as 40 per cent of its exports and 160,000 direct jobs.
In addition, the cash cow has helped the country of 5.4 million people amass the world’s biggest sovereign wealth fund, today worth close to 12 trillion kroner (almost US$1.4 trillion).
A former minister in the governments of Jens Stoltenberg between 2005 and 2013, Store is now expected to begin negotiations with the Centre, which primarily defends the interests of its rural base, and the Socialist Left, which is a strong advocate for environmental issues.
The trio, which already governed together in Stoltenberg’s coalitions, often have diverging positions, notably on the pace at which to exit the oil industry.
The Centrists have also said they would not form a coalition with the Socialist Left.
“I want a society that is more fair, with opportunities for all, and where we try to put everyone to work. That’s the number one priority,” Store said on Monday, also calling for a “fair climate policy”.
“We will take all the time we need to talk to the other parties,” he said just before the first projections were released.
Solberg steered the country for eight years – a record for the Conservatives – and through multiple crises, including migration, dropping oil prices and the Covid-19 pandemic.
