"Now we just have to get together and create a viable alternative," Halvorsen told wire service NTB, "but that requires both the Labour Party and Center Party joining a major political project."
She said that the socialist parties, which subscribe to varying degrees of socialist doctrine, must "build up a good tone" amongst themselves and "show respect for political differences."
Halvorsen's party and the Labour Party, for example, differ on key issues such as Norway's membership in NATO and the European Union. Those differences have historically ruled out any government cooperation between them.
Now, faced with a fresh poll showing the country's two most conservative parties holding 48.7 percent of voter popularity, Halvorsen suggests it may be time to make some compromises.
She noted that Labour has never before found itself in a situation where it should seriously consider committed cooperation.
SV and Labour, however, together hold just 32 percent of the vote according to the current poll, meaning they would have to get several more parties on their team to seriously fight the prospect of a conservative coalition.
Norway's right-wing Progress Party, long the object of political scorn, now holds more than 30 percent of voter support all by itself. The Conservatives have consistently ruled out a formal cooperation with the Progress Party, but voter popularity may finally force the politicians to take the Progress Party more seriously.
