Norway Daily No. 189/99

The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 189/99

DATE: 1 October 1999

LABOUR EASES UP ON TAX DEMANDS

(Aftenposten)

Labour Party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland believes the Labour Party stands a good chance of improving its ratings if it handles this autumn's budget negotiations right. He is therefore out to increase the party's influence rather than present non-negotiable tax policy demands. Mr. Jagland feels the Government and the Labour Party should be able to meet each other half way, as they are both interested in reversing the growing disparity between rich and poor. He sees no reason why the coalition parties should doubt his willingness to negotiate.

TROUBLES MAY SOFTEN LABOUR

(Nationen)

As Centre Party parliamentary leader Johan J. Jakobsen sees it, there are two courses open to the Labour Party: either to stake everything on toppling the Government, putting Thorbjørn Jagland back in power, or to cooperate with the Government and thereby achieve some influence on the fiscal budget. "We won't know what Labour has in mind until the negotiations begin," says Mr. Jakobsen. He believes the ongoing turmoil within the Labour Party improves the chances of a budget compromise between Labour and the political centre.

SCRAMBLE FOR NORWEGIAN FINANCE INDUSTRY

(Dagens Næringsliv)

Orkla president Jens P. Heyerdahl jr. and Storebrand group president Åge Korsvold went to the Storting yesterday to put a stop to Norwegian merger plans. There will be no gigantic merger between Den norske Bank, Kreditkassen and Storebrand. "We take the view that a large merger between these three finance institutions is entirely inappropriate for many reasons. Among other things, it would be too big for the Norwegian market," said Åge Korsvold after the meeting.

LEGITIMACY OF JAGLAND'S ULTIMATUM IN DOUBT

(Dagsavisen)

The debate on whether or not it the Jagland Government did right in stepping down after having received only 36.9 per cent of the vote in 1997 is now raging within the Labour Party. The central committee never took a vote on Mr. Jagland's ultimatum. Mr. Jagland insists that it did. Committee member Rolf Erling Andersen says the 36.9 per cent figure was not discussed by the central committee in 1997. Deputy chairmen Jens Stoltenberg and Hill-Marta Solberg decline to answer.

LOW TURNOUT AMONG YOUNG VOTERS

(Aftenposten)

Dramatic conclusions regarding the declining voter turnout emerge when the statistics are broken down by age groups. According to Opinion AS, only 30 per cent of voters under 30 voted - 9 per cent less than in the 1995 local elections. 58 per cent of voters this year feel it is their public duty to vote, compared with four years ago, when 70 per cent felt this way.

GARDERMOEN MAKING HUGE PROFITS

(Dagsavisen)

One year after opening, Gardermoen Airport is making money hand over fist. Projected operating revenues for 1999 are NOK 1.7 billion. Airport fees are the biggest single source of income, though the volume of passengers has also gone up. By the end of August, 8.4 million travellers had passed through Gardermoen since the beginning of the year.

DUBIOUS DEBT COLLECTORS

(Dagbladet)

Central persons in the notorious Bandidos motorcycle gang have established a debt-collection agency, Bandidos Kapital & Invest. Police in Drammen warn against this enterprise, and ask people who are approached by Bandidos collection agents to contact the police. "We will not collect debts from ordinary citizens. We will concentrate on businesses and individuals with extensive assets," says general manager Tommy Haugen.

WORTH NOTING

• Thorbjørn Jagland would have done better if he had been more receptive to the criticism aimed at him, says Nils Vibe of the Norwegian Gallup Institute. (NTB/Vårt Land)
• Accident rates are falling in Norway and doctors manage to save more lives. The number of persons disabled in accidents is on the rise, however, though researchers do not know why. (NTB/Klassekampen)
• The Swedish Handelsbanken wants to buy either Kreditkassen or Den norske Bank (DnB), but it wants to secure the Storting's blessing first. If the legislators give the green light for the sale of Kreditkassen, Handelsbanken will either bid higher than Merita Nordbanken or put in a bid on DnB. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The giant telecom merger Telia/Telenor will reduce its overall workforce by 3,000 - 4,000 in the course of the first 18 months. (Aftenposten)
• Leading Norwegian corporations rebel against the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO). They feel dues are too high and the benefits inadequate. They threaten to leave if the NHO does not reduce its dues substantially. (Verdens Gang)
• Politicians do not react to the fact that the Guarantee Institute for Export Credit (GIEK) is underwriting the luxury liner World of ResidenSea to be built at the Fosen shipyard. They think it is great that Fosen has landed a NOK 2 billion contract. (Aftenposten)
• The punctuality of aircraft flying in and out of Gardermoen has greatly improved since last winter. As many as five flights in ten ran late when the situation was at its worst last winter, but in August, 85.5 per cent of the flights were on schedule. (Dagsavisen)

TODAY'S COMMENT

Finance industry leaders are haunting the offices of the Government and the Storting these days, which is a good indication that neither political nor business mechanisms are working as they should. The businessmen cannot do business because the Government and the Storting have not made their intentions known. The legislators don't know up from down because developments are going so fast in the finance community that they cannot keep up. And the Government hasn't the slightest idea how to exploit its involvement in the banking industry. Finance industry leaders are gambling with money, power and position. Few of them, if any, have the country's long-term interests in view. Yet the politicians should consider that the bank and insurance industries are actually functioning good enough as it is. And if Kreditkassen really does need a partner, an alliance with a Swedish bank is better than a national monopoly. (Dagsavisen)