Norway's left secures election victory as populist right surges into the second place

Norway's Labour party, led by Jonas Gahr Støre, secured a second term in the nationwide general election, finishing ahead of a populist right-wing rival that doubled its vote. With most ballots tallied, Labour took 28.2% and 53 seats in the Storting, improving on its 2021 result. Støre, 65, told cheering supporters that despite the rise of the right across Europe, social democratic parties can still prevail at the polls. In a country accustomed to minority rule, Labour could assemble a razor-thin two-seat majority in the 169-seat Storting if it wins backing from four smaller centre-left parties. The Progress Party cannot piece together a governing bloc, as right-wing parties ended three seats short of the 85 needed for an outright majority. The anti-immigration Progress Party, led by Sylvi Listhaug, posted the biggest advance, taking nearly 24% of votes and 48 seats in parliament. Listhaug, 47, congratulated the Labour leader but warned supporters that Norway faces "four tough years ahead" under the left. The Conservatives slipped to 14.6%, and their leader, former prime minister Erna Solberg, has said publicly she is unlikely to run again. Coalition talks are expected to last several weeks; if Labour assembles a majority, it must bridge policy rifts with smaller partners over the oil sector and how to deploy Norway's vast sovereign wealth fund. The race began with foreign policy front and centre — including the wars in Gaza and Ukraine — but late campaigning pivoted to rising living costs, the oil industry and a wealth-tax overhaul that has prompted hundreds of Norwegians to decamp to Switzerland. Labour’s momentum was lifted earlier this year when former Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg, a widely liked public figure in Norway, entered government as finance minister. Despite a population of 5.6 million, Norway plays an outsized role abroad: a Nato founder with an Arctic border with Russia, and in the EU single market though outside the union. About four million voters turned out in large numbers; participation reached 78.9%, the highest in years.