For weeks, it looked like a socialist "red-green" alliance led by the Labour Party would prevail at the polls. Labour's charismatic leader, Jens Stoltenberg, also was the clear favourite to replace the Christian Democrats' Kjell Magne Bondevik as Prime Minister.
But the tide appeared to start turning early this week. Elections held in Norway's high schools, which have a history of reflecting actual election results, saw the non-socialists winning.
Then came a new public opinion poll that indicated a major shift among voters. The tiny Liberal party, which has been part of the current center-right government coalition, surged forward after earlier looking like it would barely qualify for representation in parliament.
That's been followed by new, daily polls confirming the same. On Friday, newspaper Aftenposten reported that yet another tiny political party that represents coastal interests may end up in the powerful position of swinging the vote. If election results are as close as they appear they'll be, the Kystparti may decide whether Norway will have a socialist or non-socialist ruling coalition, depending on which side it opts to support.
Many think Kystpartiet would ultimately side with the non-socialists.
In the meantine, the campaign rhetoric continues, with the Conservatives claiming that Labour "can't be trusted" and likely will raise already-high taxes, while Labour claims Norway needs to build up its classic welfare state.
Early voting is already underway, with the main action taking place at the polls all day Monday.
