Raymond Johansen (Ap) receives support from almost twice as many voters as competitor Eirik Lae Solberg (H) in a new city council leader poll in the capital.

Although the Labor Party has fallen like a rock in most polls, while the Conservative Party has progressed accordingly, it is Labor candidate Raymond Johansen who comes out best in a city council leader poll in Oslo.

NRK and Norstat have asked the people of Oslo who they want as city council leader after the election. 32 percent point to Raymond Johansen (Ap), while only 17 percent point to Eirik Lae Solberg (H).

Only half of the Høyre’s own voters say they prefer Lae Solberg.

NTB reports.

Raymond Johansen as an individual is seen as significantly more popular by voters than his party Ap and the red-green coalition he leads (with the MDG on the load).

But many will also think that support from 32 percent of voters is not that impressive for a high-profile city council leader. More than two-thirds therefore do not want Johansen to continue in the job.

Conservative candidate Eirik Lae Solberg (H) believes that even he is struggling with the fact that, unlike Johansen, he is not particularly well known by voters:

I think it is about the fact that Raymond Johansen has been the leader of the city council for eight years. People know who he is. I am running and am relatively unknown. I hope that will eventually change, says the Høyre’s candidate to NRK.

The election of city council leader is primarily a result of the party election, seeing the Conservative Party as well ahead of the Liberal Party in the latest polls. It indicates that there is a change of city council leader in the capital from the autumn.