The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 44/00

Date: 2 March 2000

NOTHING NEW IN GAS-POWER CONTROVERSY (Dagsavisen)

Nothing new has emerged from the latest encounters between Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and the proponents of gas power plants in the Storting. The arguments were the same, as were the contestants, when the PM showed up for the Storting’s Question Time yesterday. The only noticeable development was in the frequency of jabs and epithets. The belligerents, by the way, also disagreed on who was most foul-mouthed.

HAGEN TO BONDEVIK: DON’T LOSE YOUR SEAT

Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen urges the Government to remain sitting even if it suffers defeat in the gas-power vote. Mr. Hagen further hints that Progress could possibly be willing to come to some sort of compromise if the issue threatens to topple the Government. It would then be up to the Conservatives whether or not Norway sees a change in Government.

BONDEVIK TRYING SEVERAL AVENUES OF ESCAPE (Vårt Land)

The Government is now looking around for ways to forestall defeat. One possibility is to discuss with the Storting the eventual necessity of amending the Pollution Control Act. This is one of the most important avenues now being explored by the Government for bridging the chasm created by the gas-power issue between the Storting and the Government. The fact is, the Bondevik Government is not at all happy about relinquishing power over this issue. Mr. Bondevik repeated several times yesterday that we must keep the overall picture in view. It seems most likely, therefore, that he will use several approaches.

GOVERNMENT POLITICALLY BOUND (Nationen)

Even if it is not bound by law, the Bondevik Government will still be bound politically by most of the remarks contained in the gas-power recommendation, according to law professor Eivind Smith, specialist in public law. But Prof. Smith also points out that strictly speaking, the only enactments both politically and legally binding upon the Government are measures adopted by the Storting in plenary session.

ILLEGAL METHODS POSSIBLY USED (Aftenposten)

It would seem that an informal decision to build Gardermoen was taken by someone and that the Storting was then steered in this direction by means of unacceptable and possibly unlawful [use of] information and official procedures. According to Aftenposten’s sources, this damning criticism is expressed by Odd Holten (Chr.Dem.), parliamentary case spokesman for the Gardermoen case, in his draft remarks to the parliamentary Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs’ recommendation regarding the building of the Gardermoen Airport. The Conservative and Progress parties both confirm their support for the political content of these formulations.

ELECTRICITY RATES MAY BE RAISED FOR HOLIDAY HOMES (Dagbladet)

Minister of Petroleum and Energy Marit Arnstad may consider raising electricity rates for holiday homes. She believes this measure could motivate holiday homeowners to conserve electricity and step up their use of renewable energy. One reason for taking this step is illustrated by the municipalities of Øyer and Ringebu, where the cabins at Hafjell use more electricity than all the schools, convalescent homes and other municipal buildings put together.

POT MAY BE ORDERED TO DESTROY FILES (Aftenposten)

A number of documents with personal information on Norwegian citizens who have been under investigation by the Norwegian security police (POT) must be removed from the POT’s archives. The Government has adopted new registration and archiving rules. The POT protests that the new rules are so strict that compliance is impossible. An organization without archives has no historical record, writes Chief of Police Security Service Per Sefland in a letter to the Ministry of Justice.

WORTH NOTING

1. Former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland could be summoned to testify on the Gardermoen project. The Storting is likely to appoint a commission to investigate all aspects of localization and planning decisions going all the way back to the mid-1980s. (Aftenposten)
2. When asked how he will handle the gas-power issue when it comes to the vote in the Storting on 9 March, Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik’s replies are as vague as humanly possible. He absolutely refuses to be drawn out on what issues he will give priority: environmental, parliamentary or the political welfare of the centrist coalition. (Dagens Næringsliv)
3. NATO will implement a new command structure in Northen Europe tomorrow, with responsibility for Norway moved to a regional headquarters in the Netherlands. NATO’s northern command views these changes as the latest consequences of the cessation of the cold war. (Aftenposten)
4. The MS Sleipner , the high-speed coastal passenger liner which went down on 26 November last year, will be raised from the sea-floor on Sunday. (Verdens Gang)
5. Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik feels it is unfortunate that Den norske Bank did not notify the Minister of Finance before acquiring a sizeable stake in Kreditkassen. (Dagsavisen)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagens Næringsliv

DnB supervisory board chairman and former Statoil CEO Harald Norvik is surprised at the blistering political reactions to DnB’s move against Kreditkassen. MeritaNordbanken’s acquisitions and its subsequent takeover bid against the same bank caused little fuss, he says. But he seems unaware of the fact that Finance Minister Gudmund Restad, who speaks for Kreditkassen’s largest shareholder and DnB’s majority shareholder, is now waiting for a report on the structure of the banking industry to be delivered by Jan Willy Hopland, director of the Government Bank Investment Fund. All eyes — politicians, investors and the general public — are now turned on Mr. Hopland, who seems unable to complete the job, and on Mr. Restad, who keeps waiting with irresponsible and unfathomable patience.