Norway Daily No. 192/99

The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 192/99

DATE: 6 October 1999

UNION CONFEDERATION AGAINST JAGLAND’S PROPOSAL

(Aftenposten)

Yngve Hågensen, leader of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, threatens to break off cooperation on income policy if “the contractual pension scheme is changed one iota” by the Government. When the Jagland Government signalled a similar intention, Mr. Hågensen was silent. The contractual pension scheme gives 60 per cent of the workforce the opportunity to become pensioners at the age of 62. Thorbjørn Jagland declines to comment on the Government’s position or Mr. Hågensen’s tirade.

CONTRACTUAL PENSION SCHEME IS TOO ADVANTAGEOUS

(Dagsavisen)

“The contractual pension scheme, effective from the age of 62, has quite simply become too advantageous,” says Per-Kristian Foss, finance policy spokesman for the Conservative Party. He has promised his full support to Finance Minister Gudmund Restad, who wants to make the scheme less financially attractive. “Of course I can understand why Yngve Hågensen is so adamantly defending the scheme. That’s his job. But it is not the organization’s job to impose long-term economic obligations on the Government in order to negotiate this year’s wage settlement,” says Mr. Foss.

UNITED AGAINST THE BUDGET

(Klassekampen)

The educational sector in Norway is uniting to protest against the fiscal budget. Now the teaching unions are being encouraged to stage a political strike to defend the welfare state. Confidence in politicians is beginning to wear thin among teachers, students and pupils. After years of empty promises of increased support for education, they regard this year’s budget proposal as one big betrayal from start to finish.

BONDEVIK WANTS TO DROP COOPERATION WITH LABOUR

(Verdens Gang)

According to information Verdens Gang has received from several key centrist politicians, the Government will break off budget negotiations with the Labour Party totally if Thorbjørn Jagland is unwilling to drop his old tax demands. “There is no reason for us to help Labour eliminate tax reductions on stocks, to alter current taxes for shipowners, or to tighten up the distribution model. These issues were decided by a Storting majority long ago. But we are willing to discuss with Labour whether there are any faults or weaknesses in these schemes,” says Gunnar Kvassheim, Chairman of the Liberal parliamentary group.

PLANS BEING MADE TO INVEST PETROLEUM REVENUES

(Dagens Næringsliv)

Two of Den norske Bank’s top-level executives, President Svein Aaser and Chairman of the Board Gerhard Heiberg, refuse to divulge their views on the future of the bank. But everything they say points to a merger with Kreditkassen. They have hinted that a Norwegian bank of this magnitude should use Norway’s petroleum revenues for foreign takeovers. Last Thursday it was the head of Orkla, Jens P. Heyerdahl, and the head of Storebrand, Åge Korsvold, who approached the Storting. Yesterday it was Mr. Aaser and Mr. Heiberg of Den norske Bank who approached Labour Chairman Thorbjørn Jagland. DnB - KREDITKASSEN MERGER ? (Dagbladet) Open warfare has now been declared between the country’s two largest banks, Den norske Bank and Kreditkassen. Gerhard Heiberg and Svein Aaser of Den norske Bank want to convince the politicians to support an arranged marriage between the two banks. Kreditkassen, on the other hand, clearly prefers its Swedish-Finnish suitor, MeritaNordbanken. Den norske Bank is openly opposing Kreditkassen, and appears more and more to be the bank nobody wants.

NORWEGIAN OWNERSHIP IN SWEDISH BANK

(Aftenposten)

“Talk with Persson!” Hans Dalborg, President of MeritaNordbanken, suggests that the Norwegian Government can contact its Swedish colleagues if it is interested in a holding in the bank in exchange for Kreditkassen shares. The Swedish Government is selling a share block of 26 per cent in MeritaNordbanken. This may provide the key to a political solution. Mr. Dalborg wants a strong Norwegian presence in the bank. “We would like to see a large part of MeritaNordbanken in Norwegian hands. This should be a Nordic bank, not a Swedish- Finnish bank,” Mr. Dalborg said to Aftenposten. Currently around 20 per cent of the bank’s shares are owned by Finns and around 19 per cent by Swedes.

WORTH NOTING

• ? Chairman of the Board Harald Arnkværn at Kreditkassen does not want a government committee to interfere in the bank’s merger process. It is up to the shareholders to choose their own partner. (Dagens Næringsliv) ? There is increasing turmoil in the Oslo branch of the Progress Party. Now Progress Chairman Carl I. Hagen is being kept completely out of the struggle for power in the Municipal Executive Board and other important positions in Oslo. (Dagsavisen) ? The Norwegian Navy and Blohm+Voss are on a collision course. In the view of Blohm+Voss, its offer lies within the economic limits laid down for frigate construction, but the Navy denies that this is the case. This is the situation only a few days before the Navy Material Command is to inform the parties involved who will be getting priority in the frigate negotiations. (Aftenposten) ? The budget conflict is really about jockeying for position before the Storting election campaign in 2001, and is not about the budget at all, according to Progress Party Chairman Carl I. Hagen. (Dagbladet) ? Justice Minister Odd Einar Dørum is considering giving the police a time limit for indicting people charged with criminal offences. The purpose of this step would be to put pressure on the prosecuting authority and to reduce the amount of time that elapses between committing a crime and being sentenced. (Dagsavisen)

TODAY'S COMMENT

Finance Minister Gudmund Restad has something in common with previous Norwegian finance ministers: he is deeply concerned about what the country’s future pensioners will cost. The national insurance scheme will, of course, place great demands on the national budget, but because of Norway’s enormous oil revenues, Mr. Restad does not need to worry about this as much as his predecessors. “We have money in the bank,” said Mr. Restad in his speech on fiscal policy, using one of former Minister of Finance Sigbjørn Johnsen’s favourite expressions. Next year Norway will have NOK 300 billion “in the bank”. Few countries in the world have this kind of financial backing. This is why we are surprised that in its fiscal budget, the Government proposes a reduction in the contractual pension scheme, which is marginal economically speaking. This is not where we can find the greatest disbursements and saving possibilities. The contractual pension scheme is a negotiated scheme that the trade unions fought to establish. Both employers and the Ministry of Finance have been against the scheme from the beginning. The 25,000 people who are currently benefiting from the scheme have no other income. They are not a threat to the Norwegian economy. The Finance Minister deserves to be forced into early political retirement if he so much as touches the contractual pension scheme. (Dagsavisen)