(Bloomberg) -- Norway’s government coalition broke apart as the two ruling partners seek to avoid losing the next parliamentary election due in seven months.
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Labor Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store is still set to remain in power in western Europe’s largest energy exporter even after his main ally, the euro-skeptic Center Party, decided to quit the cabinet that’s ruled together for 3 1/2 years. The general election set for Sept. 8 won’t be brought forward.
“The Labor Party is now taking the government responsibility to steer the country, in line with our strong tradition,” Store told reporters in Oslo on Thursday. Even as the parties couldn’t agree on adopting the European Union’s energy market rules, his government still wants “good cooperation with the Center,” he added.
Splitting now is likely to benefit both parties ahead of the election, which is widely expected to be won by the center-right opposition.
Labor last ruled the Nordic country alone 25 years ago, under then-premier, and Store’s close friend, Jens Stoltenberg — the former secretary general of NATO.
The now-defunct coalition, which also depends on parliamentary support from the Socialist Left party that officially isn’t part of the bloc, had faced an uphill battle to extend its term.
Its popularity has been steadily sliding amid a string of ethics scandals, tax hikes that have triggered an outflow of the rich and fallout from a cost-of-living spike in the past years. The average of national polls in January compiled by pollofpolls.no indicates Labor is still clearly trailing the two main opposition parties, the Progress Party and the Conservatives.
The 64-year-old premier has also been dealing with a revolt inside his own party — Norway’s biggest political group for most of the post-World War period — that’s not used to taking a beating in polls. Local media have reported on mounting pressure among its members, as well as the trade union lobby LO, to replace him.
The parties had spent last days trying to iron out differences over how to adopt EU’s measures on renewable energy and the power market. Center, which mainly draws support from countryside, has opposed the legislation. Labor last week proposed passing the less contentious parts of the EU rules, an option that Center also rejected.