Norway's Conservative Opposition Secures Strong Victory in Local Elections

Norway's conservative opposition party, Hoeyre, led by former Prime Minister Erna Solberg, has won the local elections, surpassing the governing Labor Party locally for the first time since 1924. Hoeyre received 25.9% of the votes, while Labor Party secured 21.7%. The right-wing Progress Party came in third with 11.4% of the votes. The blue center-right bloc, consisting of Hoeyre, the Progress Party, the Christian Democrats, and the Liberals, advanced 10 percentage points overall, while the center-left red side lost 11.6 percentage points. This marks a significant shift in Norwegian politics and sets the stage for a potential change in government in the future.