Even before the latest surge in oil prices, Norway was ranked for five consecutive years by the United Nations as the best place to live in the world. Yet its low unemployment and a much-envied social security system have not stopped the issue of how much the government spends from dominating debate in the world's third-largest oil exporter.
The Labour Party leader, Jens Stoltenberg, a 46-year-old economist who briefly served as Prime Minster between 2000 and 2001, looked set to regain power in a narrow victory, having fought a campaign which held that more could be done to eliminate the country's remaining social problems.
With 90 per cent of the vote counted last night, the indications were that the Labour party had won 88 seats of the 169 seat parliament, Mr Stoltenberg fell short of declaring a victory, but he said that should his party win, he would form a "red-green" alliance with the Green Party and Socialist Left and Centre Party...."
http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article312192.ece
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