Solberg solidifies grip on Norway as liberals join government

Bloomberg

Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg strengthened her power base as the Liberal Party agreed to join her minority coalition. The new government will be built on a “broader center-right platform,” Solberg said at a televised press conference in Moss, south of Oslo.
“We are seeing more polarized landscape in many countries with parties refusing to take responsibility,” she said. “What we are doing now is finding solutions that are good for Norway and for people.”
After almost two weeks of talks, which were interrupted by a trip to visit US President Donald Trump, Solberg managed to coax the Liberals into government, bringing her a step closer to her goal of uniting the four-party center-right bloc of Norwegian politics. The new minority government will still need support from the Christian Democrats or other parties to get legislation and spending bills through parliament.
The expanded coalition comes after Solberg’s Conservatives and the right-wing Progress Party in September won renewed support for a second term after steering the economy of western Europe’s biggest oil producer through a downturn after oil prices crashed.