International News
Norway Votes In Tight Election Where War And Tariffs Loom Large
Norwegians began voting Monday in an election where US President Donald Trump’s tariffs and the war in Ukraine could give a boost to the government led by Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store.
Store, a veteran Labour politician, has a slight lead in opinion polls, and analysts said geopolitical uncertainties could push voters to back the perceived stability of a sitting administration.
Much of the campaigning however has focused on domestic issues including the cost of living, healthcare, inequality, education and the possibility of abolishing a wealth tax, which has divided the two main camps.
With the political landscape fragmented, the outcome will depend on which of the nine major parties will clear the four-percent threshold required to get seats in parliament.
An average of September polls has the Labour Party and its allies securing 88 of the 169 seats in Norway’s parliament, the Storting, according to www.pollofpolls.no.
Voting stations opened at 9:00 am (0700 GMT) and the first projected results are expected after the final polling stations close at 9:00 pm.
A record 1.9 million Norwegians, over 47 percent of the electorate, have already voted early.
“Stability is really important. The security situation in the world is quite unstable, it’s quite an unstable world,” Olav Hetland, a pensioner, told AFP.
With many voters wanting to maintain the status quo, political scientist Johannes Bergh said Store’s long experience in global affairs — his first stint as foreign minister began 20 years ago — could be an advantage.
“The fact that Donald Trump was elected president in the United States, the talk about tariffs, and international trade is much more uncertain, there’s a war in Ukraine — all of those international issues make voters rally around the sitting government,” Bergh said.
Norway, a NATO member, shares a border with Russia in the Arctic and its economy is highly dependent on exports.
NORWAY OUT
Fractious blocs
Store, who runs a single-party minority government, was also boosted earlier this year by the collapse of its unpopular coalition with the agrarian Centre Party and the return to government of popular ex-NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg.
Store is likely to need all four of the other left-leaning parties to secure a majority in parliament.
But the left-wing bloc itself is divided over issues including oil drilling, which Labour wants to continue while the Greens insist on phasing it out.
Both parties favour close ties with the European Union and eventually want to join the bloc, but that is opposed by the Centre and the far-left parties, along with most Norwegians.
The far left wants the country’s sovereign wealth fund, the biggest in the world, to divest from Israel, which Labour opposes.
Julie Myrene, a 32-year-old working with customer support for a car brand, told AFP that her vote was influenced by the need to reduce taxes, “because a lot of wealthy Norwegians have moved out”.
The right-wing bloc is also divided, with the Conservatives of former prime minister Erna Solberg recently overtaken by the anti-immigration Progress Party in opinion polls.
Solberg is battling with Progress Party’s Sylvi Listhaug to be the bloc’s prime minister if it secures a majority.
The right-wing bloc also comprises two small centre-right parties including the Liberals, who are at odds with the Progress Party on several issues including the fight against climate change, the European Union and immigration.
AFP
Jeremy Doku insisted Manchester “will keep on fighting” in the Premier League title race despite their “painful” draw with Everton on Monday.
City drew 3-3 with the Toffees at Hill Dickinson Stadium, with Doku scoring a 97th-minute equaliser, having also scored the opening goal.
Doku’s equaliser (96:49) is City’s third-latest goal on record (since 2006-07) in a Premier League game after John Stones’ strike against Arsenal in September 2024 (97:14) and Gabriel Jesus’ goal against Everton in February 2019 (96:52).
Doku has had a hand in six goals across his last five games for City in all competitions (four goals, two assists), as many as in his previous 22 games combined (one goal, five assists).
The Belgian also created the most chances in the match against Everton (four), completed the most dribbles (5/7) and won the most duels (14/19).
City avoided defeat in a Premier League game despite trailing by 2+ goals as late as the 82nd minute for the first time since March 2012 against Sunderland (3-3).
They went on to win the league title in 2011-12, and Doku believes City can still beat Arsenal to the trophy this season.
“First half, we played well and created a lot of chances. We know if we don’t score those chances, it is going to get difficult at the end,” said Doku.
“Obviously, they are at their own stadium, they create chances, and they are dangerous, and they scored two goals, but I think we gave them the game.
“Good that we came back because one point is not bad in games like this.
“We will see. It feels painful now. There is still a lot of games to go. We lost two points, but we know that one point can be important at the end.
“We will keep on fighting. We owe it to ourselves and to our fans.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Nigerians interested in repatriation from South Africa will be responsible for the cost of their return trip to Nigeria.
The ministry’s spokesperson, Kimiebi Ebienfa, stated this during a press briefing on Monday in Abuja.
The briefing came shortly after a closed-door meeting between the Ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Dunoma Ahmed, and the South African Acting High Commissioner, Lesoli Machele.
Mr Ebienfa said the process will be self-funded and not state-funded, as it is a voluntary decision that the Nigerian government will only facilitate and coordinate.
In the recent past, such reparations have been sponsored by Nigerian airline owners, particularly Allen Onyema, the CEO of Air Peace.
The Nigerian government, on Sunday, indicated its readiness to repatriate its citizens from South Africa due to xenophobic violence.
The effort primarily targets Nigerians who feel threatened by the xenophobic violence and tension in parts of South Africa, as the protests against black immigrants in the country continue. Two Nigerians were killed last month.
Since the announcement, about 130 Nigerians in South Africa have expressed a willingness to return home voluntarily.
Mr Ebienfa stated that the return of the Nigerians depends on their financial capacity, as they would be expected to fund their trip back home individually.
He said, “Those willing to leave are expected to approach the high commission and, given that their decision is voluntary, have the resources to fund their return to Nigeria.”
The government will not “provide an aircraft from Nigeria to convey them.”
He also noted that the speed of the repatriation process will be determined by the availability of funds.
“Yes, 130 as of this morning have registered, but actualisation would be required to have their flight ticket to move back to Nigeria.”
Mr Ebienfa also explained that Nigerians who have so far expressed interest are motivated either by concerns about threats to their lives or by fear of arrest by South African law enforcement agencies.
“There are two groups of Nigerians who want to come back. One group feels the country is not safe for them and wants to come. They have all their papers intact.
“Then there is also the second group that has travel document violations or resident permit violations. And instead of running away from law enforcement, they are appealing that the government facilitate their movement back to Nigeria,” he explained.
However, he noted that the process is still being worked out and that the government would step in to provide aircraft or other needed assistance if tensions rise and the situation becomes more volatile.
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