The Labour Party of Norway, led by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, has won the country’s parliamentary elections, as reported by the Euronews.
It is noted that the elections saw a struggle between the left-wing bloc, led by the ruling Labour Party, and the right-wing opposition, dominated by the anti-immigrant populist Progress Party and the Conservatives. However, the country’s centre-left bloc managed to retain power, despite the strong results of the anti-immigrant Progress Party.
At the same time, the Progress Party showed the best result in its history, taking second place. Its leader Sylvi Listhaug was pleased with the result, but lamented that “four difficult years lie ahead for people and business”.
Weeks of coalition talks are expected after the official results are announced.
The elections were preceded by a tense election campaign, the central theme of which was the wealth tax, introduced back in the 19th century.
As Euronews points out, the wealth tax remains one of the pillars of economic policy for the Norwegian Labour Party. The Conservatives, in turn, intended to reduce the rate, and the Progress Party advocated its complete abolition.
