Norway quick to congratulate Obama

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg sent congratulations from his breakfast table Wednesday morning to newly re-elected US President Barack Obama, saying he looked forward to continue cooperating with the Obama Administration in the White House. “The USA is our most important ally,” Stoltenberg said. “Our relationship is based on common values and interests.” Stoltenberg added that [...]

US election hype in Norway, too

No national elections stir as much interest outside a country’s borders as do those in the US, and political activists from both the right and left planned to gather around Norway to catch the results of this year’s fight for the White House. In Oslo and Bergen, for example, the US election was, as usual, [...]

Alarms ring for ruling coalition

Despite brave smiles in public, the results of more public opinion polls are setting off alarm bells, if not death tolls, for the left-center government coalition that Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has led for the past seven years. Less than 5 percent of Norwegian voters now say they want the current three-party coalition to retain [...]

Labour’s partners now a liability

NEWS ANALYSIS: Consumers finally seem to be revolting in Norway. Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) released a new public opinion poll on Thursday that shows the opposition parties in Parliament now holding double the amount of voter support than that held by the Labour-led government parties. That should come as no surprise. The government parties, it seems, [...]

Government rolls out ‘tight’ budget

Norway’s left-center coalition government was rolling out what it called a “tight” state budget for the next year on Monday, but it nonetheless contains several increases in spending on culture, transport and social welfare programs from day care to elder care. The budget for 2013 represents the government’s last chance to fulfill campaign promises from [...]

Wave of criticism hits top ministers

UPDATED: Claims of corruption, camaraderie and conflicts of interest have been pouring down on some of Norway’s top government ministers, with Justice Minister Grete Faremo a prime target. Trade Minister Trond Giske is also catching flak, with some raising questions about the ministers’ ability to do their jobs. Faremo, Giske and even new Health Minister [...]

Tradition reigns as Parliament opens

It was a day of pomp and circumstance in Oslo on Tuesday, as the 157th session of Norway’s Parliament (Stortinget) opened amidst tradition and royal regalia. Politicians face a quarrelsome year ahead of next autumn’s national elections, but the official opening was a time for ceremony and Nowegian solidarity. It was hard to believe, as [...]

Jens presents his re-election team

Labour Party leader Jens Stoltenberg wants a third term as Norway’s prime minister, and on Friday he revealed a new ministerial line-up aimed to help them all win re-election. At the forefront is Jonas Gahr Støre, who will leave the foreign ministry after seven years to take over the even tougher role as health minister. [...]

Stoltenberg shakes up government

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, acutely aware that his government coalition parties have taken a dive in public opinion polls, was expected to announce a major shake-up of his own government ministers from the Labour Party on Friday. Among the many moves: Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will be assigned to restore faith in the troubled [...]

If the Conservatives ruled the land…

NEWS ANALYSIS: Norway’s political parties are rolling out their platforms in advance of next year’s national elections, and the Conservative Party (Høyre) grabbed lots of attention when its top politicians outlined their positions this week. Høyre leader Erna Solberg seems ready to rule, armed with her party’s strongest show of potential voter support for more [...]

Stoltenberg comes back swinging

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has responded to new challenges from opposition parties by warning that a change of government can threaten Norway’s social welfare state. He listed what he considers a string of accomplishments by his own government, as early campaigning before next fall’s national elections seemed to get underway. “There’s still a year to [...]

Government party wants to allow 16-year-olds to vote

Norway’s Socialist Left party (SV), one of three parties making up the country’s left-center government coalition, wants 16-year-olds to be able to vote both in national and local elections. Snorre Valen, a Member of Parliament for SV, confirmed to newspaper Dagsavisen this week that SV wants to lower the voting age to 16 and that [...]

City governments finally in place

Politicians in Oslo could finally announce their new government line-up on Monday, six weeks after municipal elections were held in Norway. It’s also taken politicians in other cities a long time to get their governments in place, because of a need for lengthy political negotiations. The number of parties involved in elections in Norway often [...]

Progress Party falls to new low

A new public opinion poll leaves Norway’s most conservative party, the Progress Party, with just 11.1 percent of the vote. That means it’s lost more than half its support in the past two years, and that’s also bad news for the opposition in Parliament. The Progress Party (Fremskrittspartiet, Frp) won 22.9 percent of the vote [...]

‘Greener’ government grows in Oslo

The two winning parties in the Oslo city election, plus a minor potential partner, are finally hashing out a prospective platform for a new coalition government. It will be led by the Conservatives (Høyre), with the small Liberal Party (Venstre) expected to give the coalition a much more environmentally conscious profile. Venstre will be taking [...]

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