Norway's Stoltenberg declares victory in poll

       Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg declared victory yesterday for the centre-left in a tight parliamentary election and pledged to maintain his economic policy course and start coalition talks with partners.
       With 99.9% of votes counted, Mr Stoltenberg's coalition holds a slim but unassailable majority in parliament over the centre-right opposition, which had tried to woo voters with promises of tax cuts and more private initiative in the economy.
       The result showed voters credited Mr Stoltenberg with steering his oilproducing country through the global downturn and an active government role in promoting full employment.
       "We will start the work on a new government platform. I'm confident we'll succeed, as we've had four years of experience with this," Mr Stoltenberg told a news conference.
       Mr Stoltenberg's Labour, the Socialist Left and the Centre Party jointly hold 86 of parliament's 169 seats, one less than they won four years ago but good enough to be the first re-elected Norwegian government in 16 years.
       "Stoltenberg's grand triumph," daily Dagsavisen flashed on its front page.Mainstream daily Aftenposten said "The Victor" next to a smiling picture of Mr Stoltenberg, while Dagbladet lead with "Proud of you Jens", quoting the prime minister's wife.
       Tabloid VG looked forward, saying on its front page that "Jens wants new people in his cabinet".
       The campaign debated issues ranging from whether to tap new Arctic areas for oil and gas exploration as North Sea output falls, to how Norway should use its massive $400 billion offshore wealth fund - which owns 1% of global stocks.
       Norway has survived the global downturn better than its Nordic peers in part because Mr Stoltenberg has injected more oil money into the economy and offered big relief to banks.
       Financial markets reacted calmly to the election result, with the crown trading steady and the Oslo bourse gently rising.
       "The 2010 budget is nowmore important for markets, which want to see how much oil money will be spent ... and if that could influence interest rates and possibly the crown," said Camilla Villand, an analyst at Norway's largest bank DnB NOR.
       Mr Stoltenberg said he would continue the economic policies that his government has pursued since 2005 and declined to comment on next year's budget, which is due on Oct 13.
       With unemployment at 3% and the mainland economy set to grow more than 2% in 2010 after a mild recession this year, many see the red-green coalition as a safe pair of hands.
       No government has been voted back in since 1993, not long before the country set up the wealth fund to invest oil and gas revenues abroad, instead of pumping them into the local economy.
       Now worth $80,000 per citizen, the fund stokes expectations for quick improvements in public services, which in turn has led to a series of one-term cabinets.
       The centre-left has promised to return to strict spending curbs on the oil windfall once the crisis fades.
       It opposes the tax cuts and privatisation proposals made by centre-right parties, saying they would eat away at spending on healthcare, education and care for the elderly.
       Norway is the world's fifth-biggest crude exporter and western Europe's biggest natural gas exporter. However,the powerful oil and gas lobby has said the future of the industry in the country hinges on gaining access to the Lofoten Islands region in the Arctic.
Mr Stoltenberg voiced hope his cabinet would find "solutions" to questions about exploration off the archipelago, even though the Socialist Left vehemently oppose drilling due to environmental concerns and the region's fishing interests.
"We have a demanding set of questions to handle on the issue of drilling offshore Lofoten. We found solutions on the Barents Sea, and I'm confident we'll find solutions on Lofoten as well,"Mr Stoltenberg said.