Norway's Prime Minister Støre rejoices in his election triumph
Norway's parliamentary elections took place on Monday, with around four million Norwegians called to the polls. The final election result is expected in the coming days, but preliminary counts suggest a significant shift in the political landscape.
In a remarkable development, the Norwegian Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet), led by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, emerged as the strongest force in the elections, securing 28.2% of the votes. This is a slight decrease compared to the 2021 elections, but it remains the largest vote share among all parties.
The Progress Party, a right-wing populist party, saw the largest increase compared to the 2021 elections, with 23.9% of the votes. This makes them the second-strongest force in the parliament, marking a significant 12.3 percentage point increase from the previous elections. Notably, the Progress Party's vote share is higher than that of the Labour Party.
The Conservatives (Høyre), led by former prime minister Erna Solberg, came in third with 14.6% of the votes. This is a notable decrease of 5.7 percentage points compared to their performance in the 2021 elections.
Given the majority of the red-green camp, Prime Minister Støre can continue to hope for support for his politics in the future. All parties of the red-green camp had expressed their support for a government led by Støre during the election campaign. The left-of-center bloc, consisting of five parties, has a preliminary count of 87 seats in the Norwegian parliament (Storting), securing a narrow majority with 169 seats.
Minority governments are not uncommon in Norway's political system. Støre has been leading a minority government since 2021, a form of government that he may continue to govern with, as a minority government only needs to ensure that no majority in parliament votes against the prime minister's plans.
The voter turnout in the 2022 Norwegian parliamentary elections was 78.8 percent, according to the Norwegian electoral commission's announcement on Monday evening. This turnout is slightly lower than the 81.2 percent recorded in the 2021 elections.
The Conservatives experienced a notable decrease of 5.7 percentage points compared to their performance in the 2021 elections. The Labour Party, on the other hand, experienced the largest loss in votes compared to the 2021 results. However, their vote share in the 2022 elections is higher than that of the Conservatives.
The results of the 2022 Norwegian parliamentary elections indicate a shift towards the right, with the Progress Party making significant gains. Whether this will lead to a change in government remains to be seen in the coming days as the final results are announced.
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