Election in Norway

Analysis: Solberg is completely in Listhaug's shadow

Norwegian bourgeois politics is unrecognizable. The ruling party Høyre is slipping in the polls and the anti-immigration Progress Party is now the largest party on the right. Monday night's party leadership debate on NRK did little to change the dynamics, according to Norwegian commentators.

Dagbladet believes that Listhaug appears as the clearest alternative to the current Social Democrats-led government and that Solberg is falling into the shadows. NRK commentator Lars Nehru Sand writes that Solberg's thoughtful conservatism no longer goes down well with bourgeois voters.

"Listhaug's description of the problems is more concrete than Solberg's solutions. Communication is Solberg's biggest problem," writes Nehru Sand.

Listhaug: I am not a candidate for prime minister

The Progress Party is the largest bourgeois party in the opinion polls, but party leader Sylvi Listhaug still does not see herself as a candidate for prime minister. This was made clear in the NRK election debate on Monday.

When NRK asked who is a potential prime minister, only sitting Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Høyre's Erna Solberg raised their hands.

Ahead of the parliamentary elections on September 8, the left has a narrow advantage. Høyre is struggling with its worst opinion polls in years.