Norway's prime minister goes undercover as taxi driver in campaign stunt for forthcoming election

OSLO—Norway's Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday released a campaign video of himself going undercover as a taxi driver and engaging with potential voters in the back seat, just as his three-party center-left coalition lags in polls before next month's elections.

"The rest of the day will be quite different from most Fridays," Prime Minister and Labor Party leader Stoltenberg said in the video.

After a weekly government council with King Harald in June, the prime minister, 54 years old, put on a cabdriver's uniform and sunglasses and picked up the first passengers nearby his office in Parkveien. "Have you started driving a taxi?" one of them asked after recognizing him. Others just laughed.

Judging from polls, Norway is facing a political earthquake next month. After 86 years, the Labor Party may lose its position as the country's largest party. Polls show a majority for the Conservatives and the far-right Progress Party, which would be a significant turn to the right for the small, Nordic nation.

"In taxis, people say what they really mean," Mr. Stoltenberg said in the video, explaining that a prime minister needs to listen to his people.

Passengers complained about Mr. Stoltenberg's lousy driving skills, as the automatic transmission made him stop short several times. The prime minister said he hadn't driven in eight years, as he usually rides in the back seat of a black government car.

The stunt was picked up quickly in social media, with some welcoming fun in a somewhat tedious campaign and others complaining that Mr. Stoltenberg should have done it before if he was so eager to listen to people. One tweeter suggested that in most countries, the people who know how to run the country are busy driving taxi cabs.

"Driving a cab was a good way to meet people and discuss their issues," Mr .Stoltenberg said. "The surprise was good fun, and I probably enjoyed it every bit as much as my passengers. That said, I think it's better for the taxi passengers of Norway that I am the prime minister and not a cab driver since my driving was less than perfect."

The stunt was planned by Try, a PR agency run by Mr. Stoltenberg's friend Kjetil Try, the VG daily reported. The movie was published online and will be shown in theaters before the Sept. 9 elections.

The Labor Party's election machinery, with scores of volunteers distributing roses and knocking on doors all over the country, has traditionally boosted the party significantly in the last month before the elections, while its main competitor, the Conservatives, tends to fall back slightly in the last month.

After winning two elections in a row, the popular and charismatic prime minister is an important card for the Labor Party, helped by his massive social media following that included 217,000 Twitter followers and 300,000 Facebook followers. During the election campaign, he has regularly posted photos of himself with voters.

"I'll vote Labor now, you know," one of the passengers said as he left Mr. Stoltenberg's taxi cab.

The taxi trips were filmed with hidden cameras, but the passengers cleared the use of the footage. They didn't pay for their trips either, as Mr. Stoltenberg didn't have a taxi license.

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Source: Wall street journal