Norway's minority Labour government is fighting to hold onto power in today's general election as polls show the vote could go any way with an electorate demanding more cash for welfare, health care and education. The Prime Minister, Mr Thorbjoern Jagland, has stressed he will resign if his party fails to win the 36.9 per cent of votes received in 1993, although his party will undoubtedly remain the largest. Opinion polls have the party hovering around that level.
In power since 1986, Labour has had difficulty drawing votes because of a strict fiscal policy implemented at a time when the Norwegian economy is booming thanks to the abundant oil resources in the North Sea. Norway's 3.3 million voters have insisted that more of the oil revenues - estimated at $10 billion (£6.6 billion) by the end of 1997 and $70 billion by 2002 - be spent on better health care, schools, care for the elderly and pensioners.
Despite the country's envious financial position and unemployment below 5 per cent, some 300,000 people are on hospital waiting lists, some 8 per cent of the population live below the poverty line, and beggars still exist.
The opposition parties, including the leader of the extreme-right Progressive Party, Mr Carl Hagen, have all called for increased spending to diminish the widening gap between rich and poor.
Mr Jagland (46) has warned that a spending spree would overheat the economy, instead prudently placing the money in a Petroleum Fund to provide for future generations when Norway's oil wells run dry.
The prime minister, who has had a difficult first year in power after succeeding the very popular Ms Gro Harlem Brundtland in October, issued his resignation warning in August in a bid to win over undecided voters when support for the party was lagging and the Progressives soaring to a high of 25 per cent. He also declared the charismatic and controversial Mr Hagen his main opponent in the campaign, despite an informal centrist coalition alternative with more support.
The counting of postal votes is expected to be complete on Wednesday. If the vote is close, Norwegians could be kept waiting for two days before they know the final result.