Hagen’s lost causes (Dagsavisen)

The Progress Party has given up its attempts to get investment tax abolished from 1 April and cut petrol prices. But around NOK 10 billion still separates the parties involved in the budget negotiations. Last night the Progress Party presented a new and more moderate list of demands. The most important issues for the party are still lower medical and prescription charges for the elderly and disabled, tax cuts for people on low incomes, increased defence spending and cuts in indirect taxes, including those on alcoholic beverages and motor vehicles.

Government loses sleep over Carl I. Hagen (Aftenposten)

The coalition partners worked late into the night to prepare their response to the Progress Party’s budget demands. While government negotiators have described Mr Hagen’s demands as almost impossible to meet, the Progress Party chairman insists they are in fact quite moderate. "We shall be working on this tonight, and have promised to give Mr Hagen our response at midday tomorrow," was all Oddvar Nilsen, the Conservatives’ parliamentary leader, would say last night.

Bondevik government threatened with crisis (Verdens Gang)

Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen is ready to pressure Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik into demanding a vote of confidence in the Storting over next year’s budget. Mr Hagen intends to use the battle for the budget as a historic show of force which will leave the Government in no doubt as to the Progress Party’s political clout. VG has learned that Mr Hagen has already informed the party’s parliamentary group of his intentions.

Labour adds NOK 2 billion to budget (Aftenposten)

The Labour party has raised its own budget proposal by NOK 2 billion. The party has proposed more money for those in financial difficulties, customers of the state-run retail liquor outlets, users of public transport and school children. These changes have been prompted by the fact that the Government has adjusted a number of economic estimates in its revised budget proposal. On the basis of these adjustments the Labour party has suddenly seen the opportunity to spend more than it had originally indicated when the Labour government presented its original budget proposal in October.

Bombshell missed its target (Dagsavisen)

The Socialist Left Party brought up its heaviest artillery when it made its attack on cluster bombs yesterday, but the only target to be hit by the party’s political bombardment was the Socialist Left Party itself. According to the Norwegian Central Bank, the Government Petroleum Fund has not invested in the company which produces cluster bombs. "I am sorry that the information I laid before the Storting was incorrect. It appears that our sources on this matter were not good enough. But it could have been true, and has been true on previous occasions," said Øystein Djupedal, deputy leader of the Socialist Left Party yesterday.

Full pension for ex-MPs (Verdens Gang)

A number of former MPs can earn NOK 343,200 per year without losing any of their parliamentary pensions. But this is not something which happens automatically, they themselves must apply to the Storting to benefit from this lucrative scheme. Ten former MPs already enjoy the scheme, while seven outgoing MPs will start receiving their pensions in the new year. The Storting’s administration decided yesterday that the names of those seven should be kept ‘top secret’.

Opec pressure on Norway to cut oil production (Aftenposten)

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) has said it will not reduce its oil production levels before Norway, Mexico and Russia cut theirs. Yesterday’s decision could mean the end of high oil prices. Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs is due to have a teleconference with Saudi Arabia’s oil minister today. Mr Steensnæs denies that he has promised Norway will reduce oil production levels.

Worth Noting

• "After having weighed and balanced revenue and expenditure items within the context of an overall budget framework, it would be quite wrong to increase spending, for example on defence," said Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss yesterday. And with that he torpedoed Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold’s dream of purchasing 60 new fighter planes with cash taken from the Government Petroleum Fund. (Aftenposten)
• Pay up or we’ll confiscate your driving licence! This is the threat stingy fathers could soon be faced with from the State Agency for the Recovery of Fines, Damages and Costs, which also handles child support payments. Many countries have introduced similar schemes. On 25 October this year Norwegian fathers owed around NOK 2.9 billion in child support. (Dagsavisen)
• The Bondevik government’s budget could lead to higher food prices. Producers agree that reduced agricultural transfers mean dearer food. (Nationen)
• Jan Reinås, chief executive of Norske Skog, has promised that the company will build a new paper-making machine in Skogn, at a cost of NOK 4 billion. According to Mr Reinås, the decision is independent of whether the go-ahead is given for construction of a gas-fired power station. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The state and NSB make sure their 45,000 employees enjoy extremely generous fringe-benefits – tax-free. NSB has super-deals and the state sponsors fringe-benefits to the tune of NOK 50 million. (Dagbladet)
• The Russian oil company, Yukos Oil, is concealing the identities of Kværner’s new Yukos-friendly shareholders behind a Swiss Bank. (Verdens Gang)
• In October we bought 80 per cent more from the Swedish Systembolaget, the state-run retail liquor monopoly, than we did last year. So far this year we have spent NOK 471 million in Sweden and bought 3.13 million litres of wines and spirits. (Verdens Gang)

Today’s comment from Dagens Næringsliv

In a landmark judgment the Supreme Court has declared that employers cannot impose compulsory membership of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) as a condition of employment. It goes without saying in a liberal democracy that everyone has the right to join a trade union. It should be equally obvious that everyone has the right to choose which trade union they wish to belong to – or choose not to join any trade union at all. Closed shops were common a generation ago. Since then they have been on their way out. In recent years they have more or less only existed in organizations and companies with historic ties to the labour movement. Today only 1,500-1,600 people have such clauses in their employment contracts. The Norwegian People’s Relief Association, which lost in the Supreme Court, will now abolish its compulsory LO membership clause. The others should follow suit – immediately. It is something they should have done long ago.