General election: nationwide summary, 05.58 hours (NTB)

435 out of 435 constituencies (0 final count). 99.3 per cent of the voters. 2,478,956 votes counted. 74.5 per cent turnout. (Result compared to 1997 in brackets.)

Labour Party: 24.4% (-10.6), Socialist Left Party 12.4% (+6.4), Red Electoral Alliance 1.2% (-0.5), Centre Party 5.6% (-2.4), Christian Democratic Party 12.5% (-1.3), Liberal Party 3.9% (-0.6), Conservative Party 21.2% (+6.9), Progress Party 14.7% (-0.6) In addition, the Coastal Party polled 1.7% (+1.7), while Other parties polled a combined 2.4% (+0.8).

Crushed, but staying put (Aftenposten)

The Labour Party lost the election. They must search back to 1927 to find a general election result this bad. "This is an extremely poor result, but it would be wrong to abandon our responsibility," said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg yesterday. He plans to continue in power until it becomes clear whether any other parties can form a better basis for running the country. "This election does not show that people want a Conservative-dominated government," said Mr Stoltenberg. The biggest winner of the election was the Socialist Left Party. They doubled the number of seats they hold in the Storting. The Conservatives too achieved an excellent result, and received crucial support from the Progress Party yesterday evening when Carl I. Hagen said: "We have a basis for a new government which can give the Progress Party greater influence." Mr Hagen’s comment can be interpreted as saying that he will support the Conservatives’ efforts to form a government, without demanding to be a part of it.

Defeat (Dagsavisen)

"A serious defeat. This is very, very serious." Labour Party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland was clearly upset by the disastrous election result as he commented on NRK’s exit poll, announced when the polling stations closed at 9 pm last night. "We have lost credibility on what has been our historic mission – the fight for social justice and for the weakest members of our society," acknowledged the Labour leader. The party has lost a third of its seats.

Gerhardsen calls for Labour to wave goodbye to unions (Dagens Næringsliv)

Labour veteran Rune Gerhardsen believes that Labour must break with the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) after yesterday’s disastrous election result. "The party’s close links with the LO create problems for the party’s standing with the voters," said Mr Gerhardsen, former chairman of Oslo’s Municipal Executive Board and seventh-placed candidate on the Labour Party’s Oslo list. Mr Gerhardsen believes the Labour Party must have good relations with all the unions, but should have no formal bonds or links to any of them. "The party should have one contract and that is between itself and the voters," he said.

Bondevik: Centre alliance dead, Progress Party unwanted as coalition partner (NTB)

"The centre alliance as a government alternative is dead and buried since the Liberals did not manage to win enough votes to exceed the four per cent threshold. Two Liberal seats are too few to form a coalition which is strong enough to govern," said Mr Bondevik when he arrived home at 2.30 this morning. "I had hoped the Liberals would win a few more seats than they did, and that the centre alliance parties combined would be bigger than the Conservatives. It was not to be," said the Christian Democrats’ prime ministerial candidate.

Petersen: Important to seize the opportunity now (NTB)

Conservative leader Jan Petersen has ruled out a coalition including the Progress Party, but will go far to accommodate the wishes of the Christian Democrats. "We have invited the non-socialist parties to discussions which should take place in the immediate future. When there is an alternative to the sitting government I am quite sure that Jens Stoltenberg will cede his place," said Mr Petersen in an interview with NRK on Tuesday morning. Mr Petersen made it clear that a coalition including the Progress Party was out of the question, but added that he was confident that the non-socialist parties would find a solution. "The voters are demanding this of us," underlined Mr Petersen, who believes it is natural for the largest party to take the prime minister’s slot in a new government. He has always been prepared to talk to Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen, but underlined that the Christian Democrats are the Conservatives’ preferred partners. He also said that the Storting will not convene until 10 October, and that there was therefore plenty of time to discuss the situation.

Change in sight – Bondevik the joker in the pack (Verdens Gang)

Jan Petersen and the Conservative Party were the biggest winners in last night’s election thriller. But Kjell Magne Bondevik is the joker in the pack when it comes to forming a new government. "The political issues will decide what kind of government we will support, and whether we can be a part of it ourselves. The other parties must move considerably closer to us on family, environment and education policy, as well as on the role of the voluntary sector and the fight against poverty," said Mr Bondevik in an interview with VG in the early hours of this morning. The Labour Party is also courting the Christian Democrats, but all the indications from Mr Bondevik last night point to a solid rebuff. "We still feel the Labour government should be replaced," said Mr Bondevik.

Worth Noting

• Afshan Rafiq (26), a Pakistani-Norwegian woman who was the Conservative Party’s fifth placed candidate in Oslo, looks set to win a seat in the Storting. If she does, she will be the first non-western immigrant woman to get into parliament. She will also be the first immigrant to win a permanent seat in the Storting. (Aftenposten)
• Former president of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry, Leif Frode Onarheim, has started his "retirement" by becoming a member of parliament. He turned 67 on 23 August, and will share an office with Afshan Rafiq. (Dagsavisen)
• In October Gunnar "Kjakan" Sønsteby (83) will be presented with the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s prestigious culture prize. Mr Sønsteby has won the award for his contribution to creating an understanding among younger generations of Americans for the effect that the Second World War had on Norway. (Aftenposten)
• Telenor’s share price fell to NOK 28 at the close of business on the Oslo Stock Exchange yesterday, wiping another NOK 2.5 billion off the value of chief executive Tormod Hermansen’s company. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• According to reports leaked to the press, the European Commission will today publish proposals to harmonize fuel taxes in the member states. We could therefore also see renewed debate in Norway over cuts in the controversial tax. (Dagsavisen)
• Whoever the next Norwegian prime minister is, he will soon have to meet Knut Almestad, president of the EFTA Surveillance Authority, in a tough battle over the EEA Agreement. The ESA wants Norway to abolish the rule preventing investors from owning more than 10 per cent of a financial institution, and will not back down regardless of who comes to power in Norway. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Vidar Kleppe is out of national politics. Only 3.5 per cent of the voters – around 1,400 people – in Kristiansand voted for the ex-Progress Party politician who has previously had such a high profile. (Verdens Gang)

Today’s comment (NTB – all editorials)

It would be wrong of the Labour Party to cling to power, according to the editorials published in several of the country’s national newspapers on the day after the election. In all the editorials commenting on the election the result is described as disastrous for Labour, which is now reduced to a medium-sized party. "This election marks the end of an epoch. The Labour Party has definitively lost its role as the only large party capable of governing. Now Labour is a party just like any other," says Vårt Land in its editorial. VG believes the general election can be seen as a political earthquake which should make the parties think and act in a radically different way when it comes to choosing coalition partners. Nevertheless, the newspaper believes it would be most natural for the Conservatives and the Christian Democrats to form a government, perhaps with the Liberals along for the ride. According to VG, the explanation for the centre alliance’s demise as a government alternative lies with the success of Kjell Magne Bondevik. The Christian Democrats were in such a commanding position, seen from the voters’ point of view, that the Centre Party and the Liberals came to be seen as mere appendages to Kjell Magne Bondevik’s political corpus. Aftenposten declares that it would be unhealthy if such a disastrous election result does not lead to a change of government. Equally, says the newspaper, it would be a major blow to the Conservatives and the centrist parties if they do not manage to put together a coalition which is capable of governing and which provides a viable alternative to a devastatingly weakened Stoltenberg government. Dagsavisen’s editorial says the Stoltenberg government’s days are already numbered. "In such a situation it would be wrong of the Labour Party to cling to power. Labour needs time in opposition to build up the party with the aim of winning back its position as the country’s leading political force," it says. The eagle has landed, and turned into a rather ordinary political bird, writes Nationen, pointing to Labour’s defeat. According to the newspaper, the election result should make the politicians rethink things. "Labour must now learn to be an ordinary party, and the others must learn to treat Labour as an ordinary party," writes Nationen.