Norwegians went to the polls over Sunday and Monday in a tightly contested election that will determine whether Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s Labour Party continues in office or cedes power to a centre‑right alliance that includes the populist Progress Party and the Conservative Party.
Opinion polls heading into the vote put Labour slightly ahead, helped by the appointment of former NATO secretary‑general Jens Stoltenberg as finance lead for the party. But analysts and politicians warned the combined strength of the centre‑right parties could still produce a majority, and if that happens it remained unclear which leader would become prime minister. Voters cited domestic concerns such as the rising cost of living, public spending and infrastructure as central to their choices. "Public spending, school and infrastructure, railway infrastructure and road construction, those kinds of things," said Andreas, a father to a young child, describing his priorities.
The election campaign has been influenced by international developments as well as domestic issues. Norway, a founding NATO member with an Arctic border with Russia and access to the EU single market through the European Economic Area, has been affected politically by the wars in Gaza and Ukraine and by U.S. trade policy. In recent weeks the country’s sovereign wealth fund — the world’s largest at about $1.9 trillion — drew intense scrutiny after its managers said they would divest from nearly half of the Israeli companies it held because of alleged rights violations, a move that fund chief Nicolai Tangen described as "my worst‑ever crisis." Tangen and other financial figures featured in debates at Norway’s summer political festival in Arendal, where party leaders and business, union and public figures met ahead of the vote.
A prominent domestic flashpoint in the campaign has been the future of Norway’s wealth tax. Currently, Norwegians pay a 1% tax on net assets above 1.76 million Norwegian kroner (about £130,000; $175,000), with discounts that significantly reduce the taxable value of primary residences. The tax has been blamed anecdotally for an outflow of wealthy Norwegians to countries such as Switzerland. Sylvi Listhaug, leader of the Progress Party, has campaigned to abolish the wealth tax and cut other levies, while former prime minister Erna Solberg’s Conservatives propose removing the wealth tax on certain “working capital” such as shares. Labour has resisted major tax rollbacks and instead promised a comprehensive review; Stoltenberg has warned against reforms that would leave the richest paying little or no tax.
Foreign policy and European integration were present in the debate but did not dominate. Norway is not a member of the European Union and public opinion remains largely opposed to joining, a factor that has kept EU membership off the campaign agenda despite some pro‑EU voices in the Conservative Party. "There's still a massive 'no vote' in Norway. And so the voters are not there," said Fredrik Solvang, who moderated one of the televised debates in Arendal. Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said Labour remains pro‑EU in principle but that it is not an immediate priority: "I'm not precluding that it could happen in the future if major things happen, but right now, my mandate as foreign minister is to try to maintain as best as possible the relationship as we have it."
Norway’s electoral system makes coalition building essential. The Storting has 169 seats distributed across 19 constituencies and uses proportional representation; a majority requires 85 seats. Minority governments are common, and coalition negotiations often shape the policy direction after a vote. Støre’s two‑party minority government with the Centre Party collapsed in January after a dispute over energy policy tied to EU rules, underscoring the fragility of post‑election alliances. The centre‑right bloc also contains internal divisions — notably between the socially conservative Christian Democrats and the pro‑EU Liberals — increasing the possibility that the election may produce no clear majority.
Counting was scheduled to begin as polls closed on Monday evening, when the distribution of seats across parties will begin to indicate which coalition options are viable. Any shift in power could affect Norway’s domestic policy on taxation and public spending, its management of the sovereign wealth fund and its posture on international issues, including relations with NATO partners and responses to the wars in Gaza and Ukraine.
The tight vote highlighted the interplay of global developments and local concerns in a country of about four million voters that has historically played an outsized role in international affairs. The immediate post‑election period will focus on coalition negotiations and which political leaders can command the support needed to form a government.