The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 42/00

Date: 29 February 2000

BONDEVIK DEMANDS ENVIRONMENTAL ASSURANCES(Dagsavisen)

In an intense televised debate yesterday with Jens Stoltenberg (Labour), Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik made it clear that the Government will not be able to live with a parliamentary decision on gas power which goes in the wrong environmental direction. The PM and the Labour candidate for prime minister disagreed on just about everything. These two top-ranking politicians interpret technical reports differently, and each accuses the other of environmental insensitivity and of arguing on the basis of the wron premises.

STOLTENBERG DENIES BID FOR POWER(Verdens Gang)

Is Jens Stoltenberg out to topple the Bondevik Government or isn’t he? Yesterday’s television debate left this question unanswered. Mr. Bondevik felt Labour’s overpowering urge to take over was self-evident, but Mr. Stoltenberg insisted that he had been misunderstood. Program moderator Knut Olsen pointed out that Mr. Stoltenberg had described the Government as "unusually weak", and asked why Labour does not call for a vote of no-confidence on the gas-power issue. "Because we don’t have a majority for a no-confidence vote," was Mr. Stoltenberg’s reply.

VOLLEBÆK HAD CHECKED WITH COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN(Aftenposten)

Foreign Minister Knut Vollebæk denies that the Government violated the rules of procedure when it acted to implement sanctions against Austria. Before taking this step, Mr. Vollebæk had discussed the matter with Haakon Blankenborg (Labour), who was chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the time. "All I can apologize for is not having consult others, but it was extremely inconvenient being in Moscow when the decision had to be taken," says Mr. Vollebæk.

DnB WENT BEHIND RESTAD’S BACK(Dagbladet)

The acquisition by Den norske Bank (DnB) of a ten per cent stake in Kreditkassen was a veritable coup pulled off behind the backs of Finance Minister Gudmund Restad, the Government Bank Investment Fund and the Kreditkassen management and directors. Despite the fact that DnB is over 60 per cent state-owned and Kreditkassen nearly 35 per cent, no government representatives were notified in advance.

KREDITKASSEN DEMANDS OPEN BID FROM DnB(Aftenposten)

"If DnB wishes to merge with Kreditkassen, and this appears to be its intent, then it must present an offer," says Kreditkassen group CEO Tom Ruud. Mr. Ruud feels it is obvious that DnB is attempting to take over its competitor. It came to light yesterday that DnB has been buying options extensively since January and now controls nearly ten per cent of Kreditkassen stock. But DnB does not have sufficient means to compete outright against Merita Nordbanken’s cash bid.

FAR-REACHING GAS-POWER POLICY FROM LABOUR, CONSERVATIVES(Dagens Næringsliv)

Labour and the Conservatives intend to exempt gas-fired power plants from paying carbon taxes to the tune of NOK 1.3 billion per year. This is nearly as much as the Government proposed in exemptions for emissions-free power plants. Gas-fired power plants are the hottest issue in the recommendation on the energy white paper to be submitted by the parliamentary Committee on Energy and the Environment today.

WORTH NOTING

1. The Young Liberals and the Christian Democratic Party’s youth organization both call on the Bondevik Government to step down if it does not prevail on the gas-power issue. The Centre Youth declines to give the Government any advice at all. (Nationen)
2. Surprise and irritation are the dominating political reactions to DnB’s Kreditkassen acquisitions. All parties call on Finance Minister Gudmund Restad to expedite the government’s bank structure report. No Storting MPs are prepared to accept a merger between DnB and Kreditkassen. (Dagens Næringsliv)
3. Charges for medical examinations, medications and other health care services have risen 40 per cent in the past four years. Persons with chronic ailments and sparse means are most acutely affected. (Aftenposten)
4. An occurrence of mad cow disease in Denmark has prompted Norwegian Food Control Authority director Gunnar Jorfald to advise the public against eating beef recently purchased in Denmark. The Norwegian Food Control Authority is expected to implement an embargo on beef imports from Denmark shortly. (Aftenposten)
5. The number of persons charged with illegal possession of knives in public places more than tripled between 1994 and 1999, but this trend now seems to have turned. The number of reported cases dropped four per cent nationwide in 1999, according to figures from Statistics Norway. (Dagsavisen)
6. The number of children born with Down’s Syndrome shows no sign of decline, despite the improved likelihood of discovery during pregnancy. (Vårt Land)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Verdens Gang

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and Labour’s candidate for prime minister, Jens Stoltenberg, are irreconcilable. All the signs indicate that the Government is headed for a fall at the end of next week, and yesterday’s pitched battle between the two on the gas-power issue did nothing to alleviate the impression. On this issue, they are just not speaking to each other. But what they are really fighting about is government power. Any other way of looking at it is nonsense. The Centre Party and the Christian Democrats are probably in a better position than the Liberals to endure further political defeat, but the signals from Mr. Bondevik are becoming increasingly clear that the limit has been reached. And with Mr. Stoltenberg rebuffing every offer of compromise — which is what happened last night—Mr. Bondevik cannot remain sitting for much longer. Any attempt to do so would only discredit himself and his Government. Mr. Bondevik knows this quite well, but does Mr. Stoltenberg realize what he is getting himself into?