Norway's prime minister runs out of road in election race It seemed a perfectly-timed stunt from Jens Stoltenberg. The Norwegian prime minister, lagging behind opposition parties ahead of parliamentary elections next month, pretended to be a taxi driver around Oslo, demonstrating his charm to ordinary voters. But then things started to go wrong. It transpired some of his passengers had been paid to make the journey while the whole thing had been dreamt up by Try Advertising, the governing Labour party's ad agency. Worst of all, one of his passengers complained his bad driving had worsened her back problems. As Mr Stoltenberg said: "I think the country and Norwegian taxi passengers are best served if I am the prime minister and not a taxi driver." His driving skills look to be the least of his problems. It seems highly likely that Mr Stoltenberg will be kicked out as prime minister after eight years on September 9 and replaced by Erna Solberg, leader of the Conservative opposition and the most likely to be able to form a coalition from the eight or so parties expected to win seats. There is even a possibility that Labour could fail to come in first place for the first time in parliamentary elections since 1924. And all this from a prime minister whose approval ratings after Anders Behring Breivik's terrorist attacks in 2011 hit 94 per cent, a level few if any prime ministers in the world have attained. Where did it all go wrong for Mr Stoltenberg and is there any hope left for him? In one of the world's richest countries with an economy that has outperformed all of its neighbours in recent years, there is little outright dissatisfaction, merely a sense that Mr Stoltenberg's time is perhaps up. A chief executive of one of Norway's leading companies said: "It is not so much that Stoltenberg has done anything wrong. It is just that people are tired of his government. They want to see a change. He was universally praised for his response in 2011 with even Siv Jensen, leader of the rightwing Progress Party, saying: "He's become my prime minister too." That translated into good polls for the Labour party, which that summer had an advance of 20 percentage points on the Conservatives. But by last summer the mood had changed . A damning report into the July 22 attacks by Breivik concluded that the government could have done much more to prevent the Oslo bombing that started the atrocities. The tight-knit world of Norwegian politics was underlined when Mr Stoltenberg's best man from his 1987 wedding was forced to resign as chief of police under heavy criticism. Rumours swirled that he could be ousted but he held on. "I think this election was decided a year ago," said Aslak Bonde, a political commentator. The majority of people decided they didn't want any more of this government. He is a very good campaigner, which we are seeing now. But the problem is he has this kind of relaxed attitude between elections campaigns. That is emphasised by his and Ms Solberg's approval ratings. Heading into the campaign in June he scored just 36 per cent to the Conservative leader's 50 per cent, according to Respons Analyse, a polling firm. Its latest poll this month puts them neck and neck on 42 per cent each. This plays to Mr Stoltenberg's strength: his own character. Elections in Norway have traditionally been about the parties and their policies. But last time around in 2009 Mr Stoltenberg ended up victorious after facing seemingly certain defeat by the right by emphasising the need for him to be in charge as the financial crisis hit Norway. "It was and is very much about Stoltenberg the person," said Mr Bonde, comparing him in style to Gerhard Schröder or Tony Blair. Mr Stoltenberg's problem is one of simple coalition mathematics. Even if the latest poll on Wednesday puts Labour ahead of the Conservatives by 31.8 to 26.8 per cent after weeks of trailing, it still suggests there is only one possible coalition that can be formed: a four-party rightwing government. But the right are hardly united and have been beset in recent days by fierce squabbling, particularly over the participation of the Progress Party - which is polling about 15 per cent in clear third place - in a potential owing to its hardline stance on immigration. Mr Stoltenberg, sensing an opportunity as in 2009, has launched a series of attacks. Erna says they have worked to build up a non-socialist alternative government for nearly eight years. But they lack two important things: who will take part and what their policies will be!" he told a local newspaper. An opposition politician said: "Logic says Stoltenberg must lose. But then logic hasn't always dictated what will happen here in Norway.