OSLO, Norway (AP) Norwegians cast ballots Monday in a parliamentary election that could see the power in the oil-rich nation shift for the first time since 2005 to a center-right coalition, including an anti-immigration party.
Despite Norway's strong economy and low unemployment, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg's center-left coalition has
been trailing in opinion polls for months. The Conservative Party, headed by Erna Solberg, has seen a surge in support amid pledges to increase the availability of private health care and cut taxes on assets over $140,000.
As she voted in the morning, Solberg told reporters she had "been working for four years, intensively to build a wider and stronger platform for the Conservative Party."
The conservatives have said, for the first time, that they are prepared to form a coalition government with the anti-immigration Progress Party, which appears to have lost support since 2009 but is still the third largest party in Norway. It may also seek the support of the Liberal Party and the Christian Democrats.
The discovery of oil and gas in Norway's waters in the 1960s turned the Scandinavian nation into one of the richest in the world, with a strong welfare system and a high living standard. The oil helped Norway withstand Europe's financial crisis and has allowed it to create an investment fund for the country's future that is now worth around $750 billion.
