In most countries, a charismatic leader who guided the nation more or less unscathed through the worst economic crisis in eight decades should be a sure bet for re-election. Not in Norway, where Jens Stoltenberg's centre-left coalition this week barely scraped back into office with a reduced majority.rnIt secured 86 seats in the 169-seat Storting, one fewer than it won four years ago and just one more than the 85 required for a majority. The problem is hardly Mr Stoltenberg himself: his Labour Party, the largest in the coalition, won an extra three seats. A clever, affable outdoorsy type given to scuba diving, hunting and hiking, he ranks high in popularity polls.
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