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Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday  

Frazer Norwell
Frazer Norwell - [email protected]
Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Friday  
Find out what's going on in Norway on Friday with The Local's short roundup of important news. Pictured is the opera house in Oslo. Photo by Marek Lumi on Unsplash

Oslo’s mayor could stay in place indefinitely, and Conservatives do well in polls despite share scandal. This and other news from Norway on Friday. 

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Conservative Party makes local gains despite share scandal

The Conservative Party have gained 1.5 percentage points in a municipal poll despite the share scandal surrounding leader and former PM Erna Solberg and her husband, Sindre Finnes.

Norstat conducted the poll on behalf of the public broadcaster NRK. Compared to the results delivered in the election, the Conservative Party are up 1.5 percentage points to 27.4 percent of the vote. 

“To the extent that it is also a vote of confidence in me and the Conservative Party nationally, I just have to say that I appreciate it massivley after these weeks,” Solberg said to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten. 

However, the Conservative Party dropped 1.5 percentage points from 29.1 percent to 27.6 percent at a national election level. 

Michelin-starred restaurant Under lays off staff

Europe’s first underwater restaurant, Under in Lindesnes in southern Norway, will close its doors on December 16th. 

The restaurant has been in operation since 2019, and its guests sit five metres below sea level with panoramic views of the water. 

Norway’s Labour Inspection Authority had demanded the restaurant cease illegal weekend work for staff. 

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The restaurant will return in March 2024 as a new concept. 

Oslo’s Labour mayor could remain in place

Uncertainty among the right-wing parties set to take over the city council leadership in Oslo means that Raymond Johansen could remain on as Governing Mayor of Oslo until the situation is resolved. 

Currently, the date set for a leadership change is October 25th. However, talks between the Conservative Party, Liberal Party, Progress Party and Christian Democratic Party have been unsuccessful. 

If a resolution isn’t found, it means that Johansen will remain in his post until further notice. A similar situation occurred in Oslo in the 90s when the right-wing parties were unable to form a city government despite an election victory. 

Norwegian Language Council to make changes 

The Norwegian Language Council has been allowed by the government to change the inflexion of some nouns in Bokmål to simplify the norm. 

Among the words to be tweaked are anker (anchor), forum (forum), kapittel (chapter), sentrum (downtown/ city centre), søppel (garbage) and teater (theatre).

Previously, is was up to the user to choose between forms with or without a contraction, for example, ankret eller ankeret or teatret eller teateret

Under the new rules, only the long forms of the word without contractions are correct. For example, ankeretkapittelet, teateret. 

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