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Norway PM's party surges in polls on coronavirus lockdown

The Local Norway
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Norway PM's party surges in polls on coronavirus lockdown

Norway's ruling party has been rewarded for its tough actions to slow the spread of coronavirus, with a full five-point jump in the polls, according to the latest monthly report from the Norstat company.

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According to the poll, carried out on behalf of the public broadcaster NRK and the Aftenposten newspaper, the Conservatives now have the support of 24.9 percent of voters, their highest share since December 2018 and less than one percent behind the opposition Labour Party. 
 
At the start of the crisis, Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg was criticised for being too slow to react, her government too vague in its advice to the population and too willing to leave action up to individuals. In March, the party scored its worst polling result since November 2009, slipping under 20 percent. 
 
But since her party brought in tough restrictive measures on March 12, support from the public has rebounded. 
 

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In the April poll, 55 percent said that Erna Solberg was best suited to lead the country, compared to just 28 percent for Labour leader Jonas Gahr Støre.
 
Støre played down the result in an interview with NRK. "It's the Prime Minister who stands front and centre when we are hit by a crisis.  That's how it's been before and that's how it is now. You have to take opinion polls in crisis times for what they are." 
 
The Labour party also rose in the polls, gaining two percentage points and rising to 25.7 percent. The government's junior coalition partner, the Liberal party, also gained 0.9 percentage points. All the other parties lost support.
 

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In Denmark, the ruling Social Democrats last week enjoyed a 4.7 percent surge to their highest poll result since 2006, with a massive 85.2 percent saying that they have confidence in the way Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen has been handling crisis. 

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