A dense voice in Norway decide whether to follow work or turn right

The Norwegians go to the elections on Sunday and Monday in a rigid race to decide whether to continue working with the government or to contact the center to the right.

This NATO founder has only four million voters who share the Arctic border with Russia and is part of the EU’s single market, but not the state.

Despite its small population, Norway has long made its way over their weight on the international stage, and the wars in Gaza and Ukraine – as well as the US trade tariffs – have played a significant role in the election campaign.

However, in the last section of the race, the focus went on to the increase in the cost of life and inequality.

“Public expenses, school and infrastructure, railway infrastructure and road construction, such things,” says Andreas, who is the father of a young child, what he considers key questions.

Last month, this domestic attention became clear during the Summer Norwegian Policy Festival in a small town.

Every year, the political class of Norway joins the bosses of the company, trade unions and the public on the southeastern coast for an array of panel negotiations and meetings. This time it opened in the national television discussion, which involved all major political leaders.

Among them was the Prime Minister of Labor Jonas Gar Ser, 65 years old, which is striving for the second term after eight years of conservative government ended in 2021.

It is fighting a problem with a block consisting of two conservative parties: the right-wing populist party at Sylvo Livkhoug, 47 years old that has increased in popularity, and the Hero Prime Minister Erna Solberg, who seeks to return to power.

One of the problems of the hot button is the future of the wealth tax, which the Norwegians pay when their assets amounted to more than 1.76 million Norwegian crane (130,000 pounds; 175,000), although there are discounts covering three -quarters of your main home.

In recent years, hundreds of wealthy Norwegians have already left the country for Switzerland, anecdotal from high taxes in their home country.

Is it possible to cancel this outcome?

Sylvi Listhaug called for abolition of wealth tax and reduce other taxes, while Salberg Conservatives want to delete the wealth tax on what they call “working capital”, such as stocks.

The work refuses to go so far, but promised a wide review of taxation. He has a former NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, who is engaged in finances, and he warns of the creation of the tax system, which means that the richest in Norway eventually pay almost or not a tax.

Polls in the field of voting are put in the lead by ahead of a party of progress of the letter and conservatives, and partly subjected to the “Stoltenberg effect”.

But if the united forces of the right victory in the center, one of the great issues of this election is which of the two party leaders will become the prime minister.

Solberg, 67, who has been prime minister for eight years, has so far refused to accept the idea that her populist competitor could take office, believing that voters see her too polarized as politics.

Foreign policy was rarely far from the election campaign, and in recent weeks the step of the sovereign fund of Norway – the world’s largest – to cancel investments in almost half of Israeli companies that he adhered to the alleged violations of rights.

The 1.9 TN Fund (1.4 pounds), which has been taken for decades from huge oil and gas resources of Norway, is governed by the Central Bank, but it must follow ethical recommendations.

The Chief Executive Director of the Foundation, which deals with political winds related to the war in Gaza Nikolai Tangen, called his recent decisions as “my worst crisis”.

Although Norway is part of NATO, it has never been part of the European Union.

It has access to a single EU market through membership in the European Economic Area, so it must respect its rules. And this is part of the Schengen area without the EU border zone.

Russia’s war in Ukraine may have approached Norway to its European neighbors at different levels, but the issue of entry into the EU is practically not touched upon during the election campaign, as parties are cautious about the loss of voters on such a polarization problem.

“Norway still has a massive” without voting “. That is why there are no voters,” said journalist Fredrik Solvang, who was one of the moderators of the television discussion in the lease.

For Conservatives Solberg, who is actively working on EU membership, is a major policy, but it must be based on a referendum.

“So, it’s not about this election campaign,” she said the BBC. “And, of course, until we see a clearer movement to most for the EU membership, none of us will start a new discussion about the referendum.”

“The Labor Party has always been a pro-EU, but today it is not the topic of the agenda,” said Foreign Minister Espean Bart Adede.

“I do not rule out that this may happen in the future when the main things happen, but now my mandate in the post of Foreign Minister – to try to maintain as much as we have.”

Part of the television discussions in the lease showed the fight between party leaders on the same side in politics.

When two parties in the center of rights are liberals who want to join the EU and Christian Democrats who do not, they offered a choice between the EU or the Flag of Honor in Schools, they preferred to discuss flags.

“I suppose that with geopolitical status is an uncertain future, and I think we may have to take a discussion seriously,” said the nurse Iver Hoen.

Christina Styuk, who has both Norwegian and Spanish nationality, agrees.

“I think that Norwegian politics is kind of acting as if it is on a separate island to the rest of the world and does not affect, but it is obvious that it is.”

Norway has a political system related to 19 constituencies based on a proportional performance and no party can rule on its own.

The formation of most of the coalition requires 85 places, and the minority governments have long been found in Norway.

The Ster’s Labor Party formed a minority government with the Central Party after the last election, but this two -party coalition collapsed in January in a row on EU energy policy.

The right central block has its differences, so this election can end without the exact majority if the votes are charged on Monday night.