The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 43/00

Date: 1 March 2000

GOVERNMENT CRISIS LOOMING CLOSER (Nationen)

Early yesterday morning it was clear that Labour and centrist representatives in the parliamentary Energy and Environmental Affairs Committee had little chance of achieving a compromise on the gas power issue. The coalition parties attempted to save the Government by putting together a package of environmental bills, but Labour was not interested. It now seems increasingly certain that the 9th of March will be the Bondevik Government’s day of reckoning.

COUNTY LEADERS: HOLD ON, BONDEVIK!

The results of a telephone conference organized by the Christian Democratic Party’s executive committee among the party’s county leaders are clear: county leaders feel the Bondevik Government should remain sitting even if it suffers defeat on the gas power issue. But they also added that they have full confidence in Mr. Bondevik’s judgement and that they will stand behind him no matter what he decides to do.

LABOUR YOUTH SUPPORTS GOVERNMENT MEASURES (Dagsavisen)

"Labour should support the measures proposed by the centrist parties for the development of non-polluting gas-fired power plants. We must take climate issues seriously," says Labour Youth (AUF) leader Anniken Huitfeldt. Around 40 AUF demonstrators trooped up in front of the Storting building to protest the parent party’s eagerness to build conventional (polluting) gas-burning power plants.

DOWNFALL WILL DECIMATE CENTRIST INFLUENCE (Dagbladet)

If the Bondevik Government is toppled now, the impact on the three coalition parties will be devastating. 78 of the top politicians in the Centre, Liberal and Christian Democratic parties will lose their jobs. The three coalition parties have fielded 120 ministers, state secretaries, political advisers and MPs, and if Mr. Bondevik steps down on the basis of defeat on the gas-power issue, 42 MPs are all they will have left in the national political arena. The feeling is running strong in the political centre that the Government should remain sitting.

GROWING CALL FOR PROMPT CLARIFICATION OF BANK ISSUES (Aftenposten)

Sven Arild Andersen, president of the Oslo Stock Exchange, is the latest of many voices calling for a speedy clarification of what is to be done with the Kreditkassen bank. The Government Bank Investment Fund, headed by Jan Willy Hopland, is widely criticized for the amount of time already spent studying the structure of the Norwegian banking industry.

GOVERNMENT STILL BATTLING OUT FRIGATE ISSUES (Verdens Gang)

Tempers ran high in the Government on Monday over the frigate contract. Finance Minister Gudmund Restad fired off a volley against Defence Minister Eldbjørg Løwer, who wants to award the contract to Bazan, and Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik finally had to step in. Mr. Restad made it clear that the Centre Party is not ready to turn the project over to Bazan, and wants further steps taken to ensure that the project does not exceed its financial framework further on down the road. The conflict ended in a compromise: the Government stands united behind the choice of Bazan, but Løwer must provide guarantees for a firm containment of project costs. Further, the issue must be returned to the Storting so that the national assembly may make up its own mind regarding the uncertainties.

WORTH NOTING

1. Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, contemplating the likelihood of a Government crisis, has asked Minister of Trade and Industry Lars Sponheim (Liberal) not to take part in the King and Queen’s state visit to France. (Verdens Gang)
2. "This can hardly be called a step in an environmentally-friendly direction," said Minister of the Environment Guro Fjellanger last night after having learned of the main points in the Energy and Environmental Committee’s recommendation on the energy white paper, in which gas-power issues were discussed. (Aftenposten)
3. The Norwegian Food Control Authority (SNT) has advised consumers to dispose of beef bought in Denmark. The SNT now advises against meat bought in Sweden as well, because of the possibility that it may have originated in Denmark. (Aftenposten)
4. Director General of Public Prosecutions Tor Aksel Busch regrets that in 1990 he did not give then Minister of Justice Else Bugge Fougner all the information at his disposal on the Bouchikhi. Remarks published today by the commission conducting a probe into the affair are highly critical of Mr. Busch. (Dagbladet)
5. The Government investigative commission has not found any basis for declaring that any Norwegians rendered assistance in the Mossad terrorist operation in Lillehammer on 21 July 1973. (Aftenposten)
6. The past year saw a NOK 104.1 billion rise in gross domestic debt. The weight of increase may force central bank governor Svein Gjedrem to raise interest rates. (Dagbladet)
7. DnB supervisory board chairman and former Statoil CEO Harald Norvik is surprised at the blistering political reactions to DnB’s share acquisitions in Kreditkassen. Mr. Norvik feels MeritaNordbanken, in a similar situation, was treated more leniently. (Dagens Næringsliv)
8. Shipping magnates Fred Olsen and Fred Olsen jr. are planning to establish high-speed ferry services between Cuba and Florida. Relations between US authorities and Castro’s regime in Cuba must first be normalized, however. (Dagens Næringsliv)
9. Eight patients to be admitted to the dermatology unit at the new National Hospital at Gaustad in one week cannot look forward to a warm welcome. On cold days, indoor temperatures fall to as low as 14-15°C due to the inadequate capacity of the heating system. (Aftenposten)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Verdens Gang

Finance Minister Gudmund Restad is not inclined to hurry. The world is knocking on his door, but he has asked the world to wait. The Storting is clamouring for the government to clarify its bank involvement plans, but Mr. Restad is taking his time. Norway’s two biggest banks are all but paralysed, while Mr. Restad contemplates the situation. He suggests that a report may be forthcoming by summer, but promises nothing. It is becoming clear to everyone that Mr. Restad requires more time than the banks and the rest of the finance industry have. While the Ministry of Finance analyses situations and writes up its findings, the banking industry is evolving at breakneck speed. By the time the reports are finally published, they will be history.

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