Bondevik defends air strikes (NTB)

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik has defended continued US air strikes against Afghanistan, but added that Norway will work actively in the appropriate international fora to impose a ban on cluster bombs. "I will be conveying to my counterparts in other countries the unease felt in Norway with regard to the air strikes. But we must not forget September 11, when terrorists deliberately murdered 6,000 people," said Mr Bondevik during the new Storting’s first question time.

Air strikes necessary (Aftenposten)

The Socialist Left Party has accused the Government of being servile in its relations with the USA. The Prime Minister maintains that the air strikes against Afghanistan are necessary. The Government warned that attempts should not be made to drive a wedge into the international coalition against terrorism, and rejected the Socialist Left Party’s accusations that it had a "fundamentally servile attitude" with regard to the USA. Socialist Left Party chairman Kristin Halvorsen has called for Norway to make its opposition to the use of cluster bombs in Afghanistan crystal clear to the USA.

Bondevik accused of buying indulgences (Nationen)

Former coalition partners Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and Odd Roger Enoksen, chairman of the Centre Party, clashed during question time in the Storting yesterday. Mr Enoksen claimed that the Government’s recently announced measures to alleviate poverty were simply an attempt to salve Bondevik’s conscience over the substantial tax cuts the Government has pledged itself to. "The Government accepts a growing gap between rich and poor, so providing assistance to the very poorest sections of society can easily be interpreted as simply buying indulgences," said Mr Enoksen. The Prime Minister, who is also an ordained minister, angrily rejected Mr Enoksen’s use of the term, buying indulgences. "Mr Enoksen has used a very unseemly expression. We have proposed specific measures to alleviate poverty, and that is in no way the same as buying indulgences," he said in an interview with Nationen.

Stoltenberg rejects proposed sale of Norsk Hydro shares (Aftenposten)

The Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party have all rejected proposals for a wide-ranging sell-off of state-owned shares in Norwegian companies. "A blinkered, ideological rationale is something I would warn strongly against," said Labour’s Jens Stoltenberg. "A large part of Norwegian industry will end up in foreign hands. The private capital capable of buying these companies cannot be found. This will make us even more of a subsidiary country," said Øystein Djupedal, economic policy spokesman for the Socialist Left Party.

Sampo takes over at If (Dagens Næringsliv)

Sampo and the Finnish pension fund, Varma-Sampo, have together taken a stake in If, which in effect means they have taken over the accident insurance company established two years ago by Storebrand and Skandia. Storebrand’s chief executive Idar Kreutzer is therefore one step closer to a complete divestment of If. Storebrand will be a junior partner in the Finnish-Norwegian-Swedish collaboration.

Røkke lost NOK 2.3 billion (Dagsavisen)

Kjell Inge Røkke has so far lost a total of NOK 2.3 billion as a result of the financial crisis at Kværner. Aker Maritime yesterday announced a loss before tax of NOK 1.6 billion for the third quarter. The massive loss can largely be ascribed to Aker Maritime’s writing down of its shares in Kværner from NOK 95.59 to NOK 10. Following the write-down, the book value of Aker Maritime’s stake in Kværner is barely NOK 190 million. The write-down totals NOK 1.7 billion, but with interest costs amounting to NOK 300 million plus other losses, Mr Røkke’s total loss amounts to NOK 2.3 billion.

Worth Noting

• While Braathens and SAS have been forced to make drastic cuts in their schedules, Norway’s third airline, Widerøe, yesterday announced extremely good quarterly results. Profits have doubled compared to last year, and larger aircraft will now be put into service on several routes. The company hopes that in a few years it will be northern Europe’s premier regional airline. (Nationen)
• The Oslo Stock Exchange is afraid that legislation requiring women to be represented on companies’ boards of directors could be a disadvantage in the competition to attract international investors. "Arguments of that kind just go to show how completely uncompetitive they are," responded Ingunn Yssen, head of the Centre for Gender Equality. (Klassekampen)
• Seventy per cent of all Norwegians think that local authorities should be able to fire bad teachers, according to a survey carried out by Sentio-Norsk Statistikk. Education Minister Kristin Clemet therefore has overwhelming support among the people for the proposal which whipped up a storm of protest from the teachers. (Nationen)
• Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik has said that reading and writing skills are to be strengthened. Yesterday the Prime Minister himself leaked part of his up-coming budget proposal. His Government will propose that Norwegian second, third and fourth-year pupils receive one extra hour of Norwegian tuition per week, starting next autumn. This measure will cost NOK 100 million in 2002. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• So far this year only one unit trust fund has made a profit. But Norway’s leading financial analysts and experts are optimistic. The market is now set to rise again. Chief economist Tormod Andreassen believes it will rise by 10-20 per cent. Experts are recommending that investors put their money in companies with good earnings and a solid balance sheet – companies which it is easy to use a calculator on. (Aftenposten)
• Before he has had time to take up his position as chief executive of Merkantildata, Arne A. Jensen can note an unrealized gain of NOK 2.3 million on his stock options in the company. A recommendation to buy by Orkla Enskilda sent Merkantildata’s shares skyrocketing yesterday. During the day they leapt over 52 per cent. (Dagens Næringsliv)

Today’s comment from Dagens Næringsliv

The Progress Party’s Siv Jensen and Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss drank coffee together yesterday and discussed the Government’s budget proposal for 2002. They will meet again. While the Government was being established the Progress Party was pushed onto the sidelines. The party was given the choice between Jens Stoltenberg and Kjell Magne Bondevik. Carl I. Hagen chose to say goodbye to Jens. Now the party has influence. Without the Progress Party there will not be any majority backing for the budget. If the Storting’s Finance Committee, led by the same Siv Jensen, goes into gridlock, chaos could ensue. The Storting’s self-imposed system of first deciding an overall framework for the budget and then voting on the individual items, could break down. The Government does not want that to happen, but the Progress Party could quite easily live with such a result. The party has never liked the system, nor does it see anything wrong in tapping the Government Petroleum Fund for a few extra billion. For this reason genuine negotiation is required, and the question then becomes: how much is the Government prepared to give and in which areas? The Progress Party is in favour of both reduced taxes and increased expenditure. In the first of these areas they will have an ally in the Conservatives, while the Christian Democrats will be more disposed to accept increases in spending on healthcare and care for the elderly. The negotiations will therefore give some clear indications of the political direction Norway will take in the next few years, the balance of power between the Government and the Progress Party, as well as the balance of power inside the coalition itself.