On Monday, September 8, 2025, Norwegians voted in their new parliament (The Storting). While the Labour Party expanded their number of seats and held on to power as the party with the largest number of seats, the country’s political map has been reshaped when it comes to the right of center parties. Labour, led by Jonas Gahr Støre, secured 53 seats, a gain of five from the previous election. To govern, Labour will look to bring in coalition partners. Currently they are ruling alone as a minority party. This is a rare occurrence and has only been the case since January when the Centre Party left the coalition government. Moving forward the Labour Party will try to form a coalition government and would be two seats over the majority if all of the left leaning parties can come to agreement. 

The other big story, however, was the Progress Party’s surge to 48 seats, up from 21 seats in the current parliament, whereas the traditional Conservatives dropped from 36 seats to 24, their weakest result in two decades. The Progress Party is positioned to the right of the Conservative Party, and is considered the most right-wing populist party to be represented in parliament. 

Here are the key takeaways from this week’s chart:

• 🏆 Labour Wins the Battle, But the Right May Be Winning the War:
  Labour’s 53 seats make them the single largest party and combined, the left-leaning bloc holds  87 seats, just over the 85 needed for a majority. It has been nicknamed the “tutti frutti” coalition due to the diverse mix of left-leaning parties with potentially contradicting agendas, which might cause turbulence in priorities and decision making, and traditional colors associated with each party. At the same time, the election marks one of the strongest wins for a right-wing populist party in the Norwegian Government. 
• 🌲💚🌲Green Power Play? Unlike the U.S., Norway’s multiparty system means governance requires compromise. Labour will need support on legislation from a group of smaller left-wing allies. The Greens, with 7 seats, have new leverage to push for  environmental issue changes. 
• ❓❓❓Norway’s 2025 Election Paradox: The Centre-left governs, but the right is redefining itself as a populist bloc versus the more traditional pro-business and “smaller government” mold. The Progress Party’s breakthrough feels less like a blip and more like a new baseline for Norwegian politics. Labour keeps the keys to power, and the center-right is faced with a decision of joining the far-right or reinventing their approach. Given the drop in support from January to the election it is clear that Trump is not helping center-right parties around the globe.