Norway’s 2025 parliamentary election delivered a close-fought victory for Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and his Labor Party, securing a second term for the center-left amid a dramatic surge from the populist right-wing Progress Party. With nearly all votes counted by September 9, the center-left bloc clinched 87 of the 169 seats in parliament, just over the 85-seat threshold required for a majority, according to preliminary data from the Norwegian Directorate of Elections. This razor-thin margin ended 16 years of declining Labor support and marked the highest voter turnout since 1989, with 78.9% of Norway’s 4.3 million eligible voters casting ballots.
“We knew it would be close, and it was. We knew we’d have to give it our all, and we gave it our all... We did it,” Støre exclaimed to jubilant supporters at an election night rally in Oslo, as reported by Le Monde. The mood was electric, with rapturous cheering and a sense of relief among Labor’s ranks, who had faced months of speculation about Støre’s future as party leader. The center-left’s win, albeit narrow, was seen by Støre as proof that Social Democratic parties can still triumph in Europe, even as right-wing populism continues its ascent. “It is possible for the Social Democrats to win elections even when right-wing forces are on the rise in Europe,” he told the crowd, according to broadcaster VG.
The results, however, also signaled a seismic shift in Norway’s political landscape. The anti-immigration Progress Party, led by Sylvi Listhaug, achieved its best-ever result, doubling its vote share from 12.3% in 2021 to 23.9%. This made it the leading opposition force, overtaking the Conservative Party, which plummeted to its worst showing in two decades at just 14.6%. “Tonight, we are going to celebrate the best score in our history, and my goal is for this to be just the beginning,” Listhaug declared, as cited by Le Monde. Still, she tempered her celebration with a warning: “There will be four tough years ahead for people and businesses.”
Erna Solberg, the longtime Conservative leader and former prime minister, publicly apologized for her party’s disappointing performance, acknowledging the dramatic shift in voter sentiment. The Liberal Party also struggled, garnering only 3.6% of the vote. Meanwhile, the Green Party crossed the electoral threshold for the first time, more than doubling its seats from three to seven—a sign that environmental issues, while not dominating the campaign, are gaining traction among Norwegian voters.
The campaign itself was dominated by bread-and-butter domestic issues: taxes, rising living costs, public services, and the future of Norway’s controversial wealth tax. Labor’s platform centered on retaining this tax, which has been a fixture of Norwegian policy since 1892, levying up to 1.1% on assets and shares worth more than 1.76 million kroner (about €150,101). “I think it is fair that the most wealthy among us pay their contribution,” Støre said after casting his vote, as reported by the Associated Press. “It’s been the parties of the right who wanted to take that entirely away, benefiting 1% of the population. I think that goes against the deep sense of fairness and solidarity from Norwegians.”
On the other side, the Progress Party campaigned fiercely to abolish the wealth tax, arguing it stifles economic growth and drives affluent Norwegians abroad—a claim not without evidence, as several dozen wealthy citizens have reportedly relocated to Switzerland in recent years to avoid the levy. The Conservatives, for their part, advocated for a reduction rather than outright abolition. The Progress Party’s energetic social media campaign, fueled by young influencers, resonated especially with younger male voters, further boosting their numbers.
Despite the heated debate over taxation, the election also highlighted deep rifts within the victorious center-left bloc. Støre’s Labor Party will need the informal support of the Center Party, the Greens, the Socialist Left, and the communist Red Party to govern—an alliance fraught with policy disagreements. Labor, for instance, supports continued oil drilling, a stance at odds with the Greens and Socialist Left, who oppose new oil field development, especially in sensitive Arctic regions. “We will not open the deep seas up to mining,” Socialist Left leader Kirsti Bergsto warned, promising “new reductions in emissions” of greenhouse gases.
Foreign policy, though not a major campaign issue, loomed in the background. Norway remains a NATO stalwart with a strategic border with Russia in the Arctic and is a strong supporter of Ukraine’s defense. While not a member of the European Union, Norway’s economic ties to the bloc are close. Within the left-wing coalition, Labor and the Greens favor maintaining these ties, while the Center, Socialist Left, and Red parties are staunch euroskeptics. The far left has even called for Norway’s sovereign wealth fund—the world’s largest, valued at around 20 trillion kroner ($2 trillion)—to divest from Israel, a move Labor opposes.
Underlying the policy debates is the remarkable prosperity of Norwegian society. With a GDP per capita ranking among the world’s highest and a famously egalitarian distribution of wealth, Norway’s generous welfare state is underpinned by vast oil and gas reserves. Yet, the election revealed anxieties about rising prices, inequality, and the sustainability of the welfare model in a rapidly changing world. “What really has been a concern for people is their daily situation in their personal economy, how to cope with increasing prices,” Støre told reporters, according to Le Monde.
The coming weeks are expected to bring intense coalition negotiations as Støre seeks to balance the competing demands of his left-leaning allies. Final results were anticipated by September 10, with King Harald to formally swear in the new government once a coalition agreement is reached. The process may be messy, and the parliamentary arithmetic leaves little room for error. Støre’s experience as both prime minister and former foreign minister, as well as the return of popular ex-NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg as finance minister earlier this year, may help steady the ship.
For now, Norway’s center-left has managed to hold the line against the populist tide sweeping much of Europe, but the challenges of governing such a fractious coalition—and responding to a resurgent right—will test Støre’s leadership in the months and years ahead.
