Small centrist party considers aligning itself with Labour-led opposition

A small centrist party holding the balance of power in Norway's parliament should consider aligning itself with the Labour-led opposition, the party's leader said on Friday, in a switch that could topple the center-right government.

In a speech, Christian Democratic Party chief Knut Arild Hareide, who for the last five years has backed Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg, recommended that his party's board later this year endorse Labour's Jonas Gahr Stoere instead.

The Norwegian constitution does not allow for snap elections, and a switch of allegiance by the Christian Democrats could shift the balance of power to Labour until the next parliamentary election takes place in 2021.