‘Iron Erna’ becomes new female leader of Norway

Norwegian Conservative (Centre-Right Bloc) leader Erna Solberg is set to form a new government after Labour Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg admitted election defeat today.  Ms Solberg, 52, will become Norway’s second female prime minister after Gro Harlem Brundtland who served 3 terms as prime minister from 1981 -1996 until she retired from politics, and its first Conservative prime minister since 2005.

Ms Solberg described her win as “a historic election victory for the right-wing parties”.

Her Conservative Party is widely expected to form a government with the anti-immigration Progress Party and the Labor Party still hold the largest single percentage of votes of 30%.

It is oil-rich Norway’s first general election since 2009 and they are formed by a Proportional representation system, having received a 14.1% of the votes back in 2009, the Conservative Party have leaped from third position to pole in this election overall.

She is nicknamed “Iron Erna” for her robust views when she served in the cabinet between 2001 and 2005 which are similar to that of Lady Margaret Thatcher’s robust opinions.