Norway’s Conservative Party (Høyre) has boosted its popularity among voters once again, according to a recent public opinion poll. It has surpassed Norway’s other major conservative party, the Progress Party, and the two of them together would have the biggest bloc in Parliament if an election were held today.
The Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet, Frp) had been enjoying a steady rise in voter support, but took a bit of a dive in the latest “party barometer” published last week. The poll, conducted by research firm Respons for newspaper Aftenposten, indicated that voter support fell by 1.4 points to 20.1 percent, well below the levels it was enjoying just a few months ago.
Meanwhile, Høyre jumped 1.7 points in the poll and could now claim 24.9 percent of the vote. Høyre and Frp have been drawing nearer each other in recent months and could together have 45 percent of the vote and 80 seats in Parliament, edging out the current three-party left center government made up of Labour (Arbeiderpartiet), the Center Party (Sp) and the Socialist Left (SV) with its current combined claim of 43.8 percent.
Moreover, if Høyre and Frp could form a government with the other small conservative Christian Democrats (Kristelig Folkeparti) and Liberal (Venstre) parties, they’d have a clear majority
Labour fell in the new poll from the 35.4 percent of the vote it claimed in last fall’s election to 30.6 percent. The Center Party has risen, from 6.2 percent last fall to 7 percent now, while SV is mostly stable at 6.2 percent.
Views and News staff
