The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 50/00

Date: 10 March 2000

STOLTENBERG NOW EXPECTED TO FORM GOVERNMENT (NTB)

Jens Stoltenberg (Labour) is likely to be asked to form a new Government. Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik says this will be his advice to the King. Before the votes were taken in the Storting yesterday evening, Mr. Bondevik stated that his Government would step down if the vote went against it on the gas-power issue. Labour and the Conservatives’ joint proposal, which called on the Government to draft the necessary amendments to the Pollution Control Act for the establishment of gas-fired power plants, passed by a vote of 104 to 48. The Government’s counterproposal, upon which the PM called for a vote of confidence, was defeated by a vote of 81 to 71.

STOLTENBERG IS READY (Aftenposten)

Not until yesterday did Jens Stoltenberg realize that his term as Labour’s candidate for prime minister was likely to be very short. He is now preparing to keep his Government going until next year’s general election by seeking support from issue to issue. He declined to confirm this yesterday, but he hardly has any other choice. His view is that in the area of economic and social policy, Labour already has agreements with the coalition parties, and in other areas, such as gas-power plants and EU issues, the new Labour Government will enlist support from Progress and the Conservatives.

BONDEVIK NOT FINISHED YET (Vårt Land)

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik backed himself into a corner in which the only option open to him was to step down. But in doing so he has also laid the foundation for a new Bondevik Government after the next general election. No gas power plants are likely to be built during Mr. Stoltenberg’s term of office, at least not before the coming elections, so it does not seem to have been necessary for the Bondevik Government to relinquish power – including control over energy policy – to Mr. Stoltenberg.

CONSERVATIVES MAY BE THE REAL LOSERS (Verdens Gang)

Conservative Party chairman Jan Petersen may have ruined any chances he may have had to join Kjell Magne Bondevik in a coalition Government for a long time to come. Mr. Petersen tried to manoeuvre his party into a position to share Government responsibility, but he may emerge as the big loser of yesterday’s parliamentary showdown. I understand the disappointment of the political centre. But once they have left their disappointment behind, we ought to be able to discuss the future. The way back to Government for Mr. Bondevik and the coalition parties lies with the Progress and Conservative parties, and they know it, says Mr. Petersen.

Since 1905, 11 governments have stepped down in response to votes of confidence that they called for and lost. The latest was the Willoch Government, which stepped down in May 1986. Election defeats and unsuccessful votes of confidence have been the two most common factors behind changing governments in modern Norwegian history.

STOLTENBERG: WE ARE IN A DIFFERENT SITUATION (Dagens Næringsliv)

Whatever happened to the impossibility of Governing with an electoral basis of only 36.9 per cent? The new prime minister-designate feels the current situation is entirely different from the situation following the last election. There are two reasons: for one, the political centre has learned a great deal and is much more responsible now, and for the other, the budget which Labour voted for is supported by a majority, says Mr. Stoltenberg.

BONDEVIK: IT WON’T BE EASY FOR STOLTENBERG (Verdens Gang)

Kjell Magne Bondevik (Chr.Dem.) wishes Jens Stoltenberg (Labour) the best of luck as Norway’s coming Prime Minister. He has a tough job ahead. I must admit we lasted longer than I thought we would when we started, said Mr. Bondevik yesterday after two years, four months and 20 days at the head of Norway’s government.

AN UPHILL CLIMB (Dagbladet)

Jens Stoltenberg does not have much support in the opinion polls. Only 19 percent believe he will be a better prime minister than Mr. Bondevik. Not even Labour voters have overwhelming faith in him, with only 38 per cent expecting him to be better, according to a poll conducted by MMI last night. This may come as a bit of a shock to those who have been counting on Mr. Stoltenberg’s popularity. It will be recalled that Thorbjørn Jagland’s withdrawal of his candidacy for the prime Ministry led to a substantial upturn in Labour’s ratings.

WORTH NOTING

• It will take several days before Jens Stoltenberg’s Government starts taking form, but there is reason to believe that Labour Party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland will be Norway’s next Foreign Minister. (Aftenposten)
• Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) president Yngve Hågensen brushed off Jens Stoltenberg as an inexperienced youngster from Oslo’s posh West Side in rejecting him as party chairman in 1992. But he lauds Mr. Stoltenberg now as he also makes it clear that he expects to be consulted when Mr. Stoltenberg starts putting together a Labour Government. (Verdens Gang)

TODAY’S COMMENT from NTB

The Bondevik Government conceded defeat with heads held high and could therefore withdraw with honour intact, is the general view expressed by news commentators.

The Storting crossed the traditional boundary for the separation of powers between executive and legislature, writes Dagsavisen. When the Storting violates what is considered good parliamentary practice, it is the duty of the Government to put its foot down. It was therefore advisable, for the good of the parliamentary system, for the Government to step down. Mr. Stoltenberg, on the other hand, steps up to the prime ministry on a poor case for a progressive party with a high environmental profile. The fact that he was aided by the Progress and Conservative parties must also be a source of some political embarrassment, and he cannot remain associated with them for long. Mr. Stoltenberg will be forced to seek support from the political centre.

It must not be taken for granted that Mr. Stoltenberg will take over as Prime Minister. Mr. Bondevik could conceivably resurrect and regain the prime Ministry, according to Nationen, which also observes that the Conservatives are calling for a broad non-socialist collaboration in which today’s centrist opponents will be tomorrow’s partners.

From the outset, the Bondevik Government has had a parliamentary majority against it. Had they so wished, Labour and the Conservatives could have joined forces to topple the Government any time, but that did not take place until Labour replaced Thorbjørn Jagland as chairman, writes Vårt Land, which takes the view that Labour and the Conservatives were acting on a shared goal of toppling the centrist Government.

Yesterday’s showdown in the Storting was a sensible readjustment of relations between the Government and the Storting. Somewhat oversimplified, one may say that the Bondevik Government will go down in history as the Government that restored parliamentarism to Norwegian politics, writes Aftenposten.