Norwegian government resigns

Norwegian King Harald V accepted on Monday the resignation of the government led by the country's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. The coalition government of the Labor Party and two other left-centre parties, who lost the majority in the September parliamentary election, will stay as the caretaker pending a new government is formed. King Harald V is now expected to contact Conservative party leader Erna Solberg ask her to form the new government. The Conservatives and three other centre-right parties together won 96 seats in the 169-seated parliament. The Conservatives and the Progress party have agreed to form a coalition government with promised support from the Social Democratics and the Liberals. After being the prime minister for eight years, Stoltenberg said on Monday that he is looking forward to driving a car alone with his wife, without the security people around him.