Norway Daily No. 195/99

The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 195/99

DATE: 11 October 1999

LAHNSTEIN STEPS DOWN

(Nationen-Saturday)

Anti-EU figurehead Lisbeth Holand fears that Anne Enger Lahnstein's departure as Minister of Cultural Affairs will further weaken the Government's anti-EU membership profile. Ms. Holand has no major hopes for Ms. Lahnstein's successor, Åslaug Haga. The Norwegian cultural community also laments Ms. Lahnstein's resignation. "Ms. Lahnstein has been a responsive and dynamic minister whose departure is regrettable." The expectations which her successor must live up to are great. Ms. Lahnstein's resignation will leave the Government weaker. Mr. Bondevik would like to have had her aboard for the approaching budget negotiations with the opposition," writes Nationen.

LAHNSTEIN WORN OUT

(Aftenposten-Saturday)

An exhausted Anne Enger Lahnstein is stepping down as Minister of Cultural Affairs. She retains her seat in the Storting where she will continue to serve as an ordinary MP for the Centre Party, though she will take a leave of absence until Christmas. From the beginning of her political career as a conservative anti-abortion activist, Ms. Lahnstein ended up as head of the Centre Party and the undisputed figurehead of the anti-EU membership movement in the 1994 referendum on Norwegian EU membership. Her foremost political triumph was the defeat of the move to make Norway a part of the EU in 1994, and later, the formation of a centrist coalition government. Ms. Lahnstein is assured of her place in Norwegian history, though historians say she will not reach the status attained by Gro Harlem Brundtland.

EU ADVOCATES NOT READY TO RENEW THE BATTLE

(Dagsavisen-Saturday)

"Opposition to EU membership is so great in Norway that advocates of EU membership will not attempt to revive a new accession debate for a long time to come." This was Anne Enger Lahnstein's farewell message. Minister of Cultural Affairs Anne Enger Lahnstein is stepping down from a position at the summit. Even her opponents say she will go down in history. DnB LEADERS CRITICISED BY FORMER EXECUTIVE (Dagens Næringsliv-Saturday) Former DnB executive Finn A. Hvistendahl criticises the bank's current leaders. Mr. Hvistendahl believes a merger with the Kreditkassen is ill-advised. After board chairman Gerhard Heiberg dismissed Mr. Hvistendahl as group president 17 months ago, the bank's value has declined by NOK 5.2 billion. During the same period, the Kreditkassen rose NOK 4.3 billion in value. Mr. Heiberg and the current group president, Svein Aaser, are chiefly responsible for falling behind DnB's archrival. Executive replacements and the Postal Bank merger have sidelined the DnB in a Nordic perspective.

STORTING INQUIRY ON GARDERMOEN WEATHER REPORT

(Aftenposten)

Minister of Transport and Communications Dag Jostein Fjærvoll and Civil Aviation Administration director general Ove Liavaag must now appear before the Storting's Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs to explain why the analysis of weather patterns in the Gardermoen area was never submitted to the Storting. Former Minister of Transport and Communications Kjell Opseth may also be called to appear. Committee chairman Jørgen Kosmo says the issue will be discussed together with the Storting's examination of the Gardermoen shuttle railway.

ONE OUT OF TWO KOSOVARS REPATRIATED

(Aftenposten)

Only half the Kosovars airlifted to Norway have returned to Kosovo. In Sweden, only a quarter have returned home. Repatriations from the other Scandinavian countries are also low. The Immigration Directorate anticipates that 80 per cent of the 6065 Kosovars who fled to Norway will return to Kosovo. It was also noted after the Bosnia crisis that among Nordic countries, Norway achieved the highest rate of repatriation.

NOK 100 BILLION IN INVESTMENT FUNDS

(Dagsavisen)

Norwegians are saving money like never before. At the end of August, NOK 103.6 billion was placed in various investment funds. Investments in foreign funds are the driving force behind this sharp upswing. Most new investments this year have been in international unit trusts.

BUDGET ISSUES ON THE TABLE TODAY

(Aftenposten)

The first clarifying round in this autumn's budget negotiations will probably take place today. Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and Labour party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland have most likely agreed to go ahead with negotiations, according to fairly consistent speculations in the political community yesterday. Labour has a keen interest in clarifying matters before the debate on the Speech from the Throne commences tomorrow, and has called a meeting of its parliamentary group to discuss the negotiations today.

GERMANS OUT OF FRIGATE RACE

(Dagens Næringsliv)

Kongsberg has signed a NOK 810 million offset agreement with US military hardware manufacturer Lockheed Martin (LM). All the signs indicate that German shipyard Blohm + Voss is now out of the frigate race. The navy will start negotiating details with LM and the Spanish shipyard Bazan in a few days.

WORTH NOTING

• Seven years ago, the Storting requested information on the Gardermoen airport site's accessibility characteristics. The Civil Aviation Administration defined the question within the narrowest possible limits and as a result, the Storting was never told about the undercooled rain and heavy ice and snow conditions characteristic of the area. Kjell Opseth, former Minister of Transport and Communications, says it was due to an oversight that the winter weather report on the Gardermoen site never reached the Storting. (Aftenposten-Saturday)
• The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) spends several hundred million kroner every year on rights to sports broadcasts. NRK news editor Alf R. Jacobsen calls this a senseless waste of money with enormous consequences. The NRK has so little money left for other television production that it has sacrificed its journalistic independence to obtain these rights. (Vårt Land-Saturday)
• The fate of 40,000 Norsk Hydro employees will be decided in October. Ten external consultants have recently concluded their study of the health of one of Norway's leading industrial enterprises. "We are at a crossroads," concedes senior information officer Henrik Andenæs. Director General Egil Myklebust will announce Norsk Hydro's new strategy in 14 days, and until then, unrest among the employees will continue to grow. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Norsk Hydro has been offered around NOK 2 billion for its subsidiary Hydro Seafood, which is the largest fish farming enterprise in the world. US food giant ContiGroup Companies may be one of the bidders. (Dagens Næringsliv-Saturday)
• For the first time, the Conservatives, Christian Democrats and Liberals are in a position to form a Storting majority without the help of the Centre Party. Their joint base amounts to 53.3 per cent, according to a recent MMI survey conducted for Dagbladet. (Dagbladet-Sunday)
• 43 per cent of the voters want the Government to collaborate with Labour on the fiscal budget, according to a Gallup poll conducted for TV2. (NTB)
• Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik was awarded the "Taboo Prize" for having spoken openly of his bout with depression. (Dagsavisen)

TODAY'S COMMENT

Because of a climate analysis detailing frequent fog conditions, Hurum, southwest of Oslo, was discarded as a site for building Norway's new main airport. Yet a similar analysis which made it clear that fog and ice could be just as serious at Gardermoen never reached the Storting, despite the fact that the Storting had specifically asked for this information. The final story of how Gardermoen was chosen over Hurum is not yet known. But every time new information from this process surfaces, the need for a probe increases. One more winter of delayed flights at Gardermoen will give the whole airport project the status of a scandal. (Vårt Land)