My latest article: Return of the Tories?

With only one week left to go until the British general election opinion polls indicate that the Conservative Party is again advancing and might still just manage to secure a majority in Parliament, although the sudden rise of the Liberal Democrats may still cause a hung parliament and thereby a coalition government.
After thirteen years in opposition it seems the Tories, arguably the oldest party in the world, are now emerging from the valley of shadows. In an article in Dagbladet today (external link) I look at the history of the Conservative Party since 1997 and attempts to explain the turn in their fortunes in recent years which has again made them a realistic alternative to Labour.
The article is part of a series which began yesterday with Øivind Bratberg writing about the Liberal Democrats (external link) and which will conclude tomorrow by an article by Dag Einar Thorsen on the Labour Party (external link).