It follows the decision of the Progress Party, the minority in the country's coalition Government behind the Conservative majority, to collectively vote against the bid last week on the grounds that the expense required is not justifiable in a time of economic woe.

Several members of the Progress Party are in the Norwegian Government, including party leader Sviv Jensen, who is also the Norwegian Finance Minister.

With the bid virtually dependent on the decision of the Government over whether to provide endorsement, due in the autumn, the ultimate decision of the Conservative Party from which the rest of the Government is compiled, is absolutely crucial

Among Conservative figures who remain behind the bid is the Mayor of Oslo Fabian Stang, a longstanding supporter to bring the Games back to the capital city for the first time since 1952.

He gave an impassioned plea to party colleagues during the Congress, asking them to "give the young an Olympic Games" in order to "show the world our values".

But it is thought many other figures in the party are in opposition, and public opinion polls taken from the Hordaland constituency of Prime Minister Erna Solberg in the west of the country, are also heavily against the bid.

The Conservative Congress followed the decision of the Progress Party, led by Sviv Jensen, to oppose Oslo's bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics ©AFP/Getty Images





It is likely Oslo 2022 will be working hard behind the scenes to garner greater Conservative support, and Organising Committee chief executive Eli Grimsby claimed to insidethegames last week that recent setbacks have not marked the death knell of the bid and they remain confident they can still reverse their fortunes.

Following a video conference with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) last week, the Congress comes at a crucial time in the bid process, for Oslo along with the four other applicants: Almaty, Beijing, Kraków and Lviv.

The files of all five are currently being analysed before a technical report is produced to assist the IOC's ruling Executive Board with its selection of an unspecified number of the candidate cities when it is due to meet in Lausanne on July 8 and 9.

Visits will then be made to each by the IOC Evaluation Commission before the winning city is revealed at the IOC Session in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on July 31, 2015.

Despite this timetable, Oslo opted not to bring forward the decision of the Government to endorse or oppose the bid. 

This decision, announced by Minister of Culture Thorhild Widvey last week, has been criticised by the Labour opposition, with party secretary Raymond Johansen requesting immediate clarification of the Government's stance as he described how the delay does not conform with the "new reality" of the country's economic and political position.

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