Norway ruling Labour Party wins reelection while populists score gains

Oslo [Norway], September 10: Norway's minority Labour Party government won a second term in power on Monday while the populist right achieved its best-ever election result, official results showed, in a ballot dominated by concerns over rising living costs and wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Incumbent Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere's Labour and four smaller, left-leaning parties won 87 seats, above the 85 needed for a majority, with 99% of ballots counted.
Stoere, 65, will remain heavily reliant on his smaller allies, however, to pass major legislation such as fiscal budgets. To get their backing, he will likely face tough discussions over issues such as tax hikes for the wealthy, future oil exploration, and divestments by Norway's $2 trillion sovereign wealth fund from Israeli companies.
Despite the left's victory, Monday's ballot showed a shift further to the right among conservative voters, with the populist, anti-immigration Progress Party of Sylvi Listhaug, 47, making its best-ever showing in an election.
Progress secured 48 seats in the 169-seat parliament, more than double its allocation from four years ago, as the party's promise of large tax cuts appeared to have resonated with many voters.
Listhaug, a onetime firebrand who cites Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher as her role models, campaigned on what she said was wasteful public spending on areas such as international aid and subsidies to green energy.
None of the right-wing parties that won seats, including former Prime Minister Erna Solberg's Conservatives, have sought the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump, unlike some of their counterparts elsewhere in Europe.
Source: Fijian Broadcasting Corporation