Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg declared victory today for the centre-left in a tight Norwegian parliamentary election and said his Labour party would hold coalition talks with two junior partners.
With 99.9 per cent of votes counted, Mr Stoltenberg's coalition holds a slim but unassailable majority in parliament over the centre-right, which had tried to woo voters with promises of tax cuts and more private initiative in the economy.
The result showed voters credited Mr Stoltenberg with steering the big oil-producer through the global downturn.
“We will start the work on a new government platform. I'm confident we'll succeed, as we've had four years of experience with this," the prime minister told a news conference.
Mr Stoltenberg's Labour-led cabinet won 86 of parliament's 169 seats, one less than they won four years ago but good enough to be the first re-elected Norwegian government in 16 years.
The government is set to decide whether the North Sea country opens new Arctic areas for oil and gas exploration and how its utilises its $400 billion offshore wealth fund.
Norway has survived the global downturn better than its Nordic peers in part because Mr Stoltenberg has injected more oil money into the economy and offered big relief to banks. Financial markets reacted calmly to the election result, with the crown trading steady and the Oslo bourse gently rising.
With unemployment at 3 per cent and the mainland economy set to grow more than 2 per cent in 2010 after a mild recession this year, many see the incumbent coalition as a safe pair of hands.
Mr Stoltenberg is set to lead his third government this decade. No government has been voted back in since 1993, not long before the country set up the wealth fund to invest oil and gas revenues abroad, instead of pumping them into the local economy. The fund, worth $80,000 per citizen, raises expectations for quick improvements in the standard and scope of public services, which in turn has led to a series of one-term cabinets.
Non-OPEC member Norway is the world's fifth-biggest crude exporter and Western Europe's biggest natural gas exporter. However, the powerful oil and gas lobby has said the future of the industry in the country hinges on gaining access to new Arctic areas to replenish dwindling North Sea resources. The result paves the way for more major government initiatives and relative restraint in using the country's vast oil windfall to plug budget holes.
The result is also likely to mean no fresh debate by the European Union outsider over the merits of membership, since the government includes the staunchly anti-EU Centre Party. Norway rejected membership in referendums twice, in 1972 and in 1994.
Reuters