Status: 14.09.2021 1:38 a.m.
According to the preliminary results, a left-wing alliance has won the parliamentary elections in Norway. The election campaign was shaped by climate change and the future of the oil and gas industry.
With shouts of “Jonas, Jonas”, the chairman of the Social Democratic Workers’ Party, Jonas Gahr Støre, was celebrated as the winner of the parliamentary elections in Norway. “We worked hard, and now we can finally say: We made it,” said the 61-year-old in front of cheering supporters in Oslo late in the evening.
It looks like a solid majority for a center-left alliance consisting of its Social Democrats, the Center Party and the Socialist Left Party, said Støre. They would then not have to rely on the other two opposition parties, the Greens and the Communists. This is “our Plan A”, but they want to invite all parties to talks that would like to see a change of government. The 61-year-old millionaire Störe is expected to be the next head of government in the Scandinavian country.
Støre thanks previous head of government
The three parties favored by Støre came after a preliminary count of almost all votes in the night to a majority of 89 seats in the Norwegian parliament Storting – at least 85 of the 169 seats there are necessary for a majority. At the same time, Støre thanked his adversary Erna Solberg for her eight years as head of government. “She has been a good and consistent Prime Minister for Norway,” he said. Solberg has safely led the country through several serious crises.
Solberg has admitted their defeat and congratulated their challenger. Trouble seems to have “a clear majority in favor of a change of government”. The work of the conservative government she led was “over for this time,” said Solberg. According to the projections, the left opposition, led by Störes, captured around one hundred of the 169 seats in parliament.
Election campaigns shaped by climate change and the oil and gas industry
The election campaign was shaped by climate change and the future of Norway’s oil and gas industry. The Labor Party wants to support new green industries, including one that uses natural gas to make an alternative fuel and one that stores CO2 under the ocean.
Norway is one of the wealthiest countries in the world. The oil and gas industry, the largest in the country, is responsible for more than 40 percent of exports. More than five percent of the workforce in Norway is employed there. However, Norway has consumers who are concerned about the climate. Most of the newly bought cars in the country are electric cars.