JAGLAND SHARPLY CRITICIZES FELLOW LABOUR POLITICIANS (Aftenposten)

Labour Party leader Thorbjørn Jagland is sharply critical of former ministers and others who he feels are waging an anonymous campaign against him in the news media. "Anyone aiming to reach their goals simply by causing trouble long enough is undermining our organization," says Mr. Jagland, who does not expect any controversy over party leadership. He had already resolved on election day – 10 September – that he would step down as party chairman because somebody, in his view, had to take responsibility for the poor election results. But first he wanted to discuss the matter with his close friend, Yngve Hågensen, before informing the rest of the party leadership. "He asked me to think the matter through one more time, and I followed his advice," said Mr. Jagland yesterday.

JAGLAND CAN COUNT ON RE-ELECTION IF HE WANTS IT (Dagbladet)

Yngve Hågensen is not the least bit in doubt that Thorbjørn Jagland would beat Jens Stoltenberg in an open fight for power. "Thorbjørn’s position is so strong that he will be re-elected if that’s what he wants," says the powerful union veteran to Dagbladet. The reason Mr. Hågensen is not fighting openly for Mr. Jagland is that he is not certain that this is what Mr. Jagland himself wants. He feels the political issues must take priority over who does what in the party, so he is unwilling to take a stand on the whole leadership configuration at this early date.

JAGLAND PREPARED TO FIGHT (Dagsavisen)

Labour Party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland wishes to stand for re-election next autumn. "I feel I’ve got plenty of support behind me in the party," he said in an interview witn Dagsavisen. Yngve Hågensen, former president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, says that Mr. Jagland must continue as Labour’s uncontested leader. "He represents a radicalization of the party which I support," says Mr. Hågensen.

PARTY SUBVERSIVES IDENTIFIED (Dagbladet)

Thorbjørn Jagland refuses to say who he believes is poisoning the atmosphere in the party. But according to people close to Mr. Jagland, two of Jens Stoltenberg’s closest aides, Jonas Gahr Støre and Jan-Erik Larson, are the ones behind the efforts to undermine Mr. Jagland’s position. According to the same people, Mr. Stoltenberg’s supporters have also involved the major daily, Verdens Gang. Mr. Larsen is currently working as a special adviser to Labour’s parliamentary group; Mr. Støre is still collecting severance pay as a former chief of staff.

NORWEGIAN BANKING GIANT IN THE MAKING (Aftenposten)

The DnB bank’s biggest owner, the Government Bank Investment Fund, is open for a merger once Gjensidige NOR has been reorganized as a corporation, and Gjensidige NOR group president and CEO Olav Hytte has no major objections. The Storting, too, has indicated its interest in this solution. The outcome of this merger would be Scandinavia’s fifth largest financial group, and by Norwegian standards it would be a giant, with 40 per cent of the market. It would additionally be safe from hostile takeover bids by foreign investors. Den norske Sparebank would also do well in the Scandinavian market. The politicians have only one condition: the head office must be located in Norway.

GOOD ENVIRONMENTAL RESOLUTIONS COLLAPSE (Vårt Land)

The Liberals’and Christian Democrats’ ambitions of being the Government’s environmental watchdogs have been taken down a few notches in the fiscal budget. Until now the conventional wisdom has been that it was the Conservatives who modified their environmental policy profile in order to join the coalition, but a look at the budget indicates that the Christian Democrats, and to a lesser degree the Liberals, are the ones who have shifted previously-held views. In Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik’s review of his first few months as prime minister today, there are a number of environmental issues whose outcomes he will certainly not be broadcasting.

WORTH NOTING

• Thorbjørn Jagland claims that he does not know who is poisoning the atmosphere in the Labour Party. The only thing he is certain of is that it has left him discouraged and worn out. "They must be stopped, and I must use the means at my disposal," he says. (Dagbladet)
• A numbr of union leaders have publically called upon Thorbjørn Jagland to continue as party chairman. But two of the most powerful, Kjell Bjørndalen of the Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions and Jan Davidsen of the Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees, do not wish to take a public stand yet on the issue. (Dagsavisen)
• Executive committee member and former minister Grete Knudsen is preparing to fight for Thorbjørn Jagland. Until now Ms. Knudsen has refused to take part in the power struggle by voicing her support for Mr. Jagland, but now she is speaking out. "He is a unifying candidate, and today’s leadership duo works well," says Ms. Knudsen. (Verdens Gang)
• Being an incumbent party no longer gives any clout with the voters. The Conservatives and Christian Democrats have both been losing voters, according to a recent poll taken by MMI for Dagbladet and NRK. With a 2.4 point drop in ratings, the Conservatives have lost most. Labour seems to have stabilized at the same level of support it has enjoyed for the past year and a half. (Dagbladet)
• Minister of Local Government Erna Solberg (Cons.) feels parishes do not understand the implications of the help they are providing when they open their doors to church refugees. She would prefer to see an end to the tradition of church asylum. But she is giving church refugees a one-week Christmas amnesty. (Vårt Land)
• EU ambassador Gerhard Sabathil has rebuffed Jens Stoltenberg’s suggestion that Norway can seek EU membership minus the euro. He says applicants cannot simply pick what they want and leave out the parts they don’t like. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik wants the Liberals, Conservatives and Christian Democrats to stand as a government coalition in the 2005 elections. This dashes, for the foreseeable future, the hopes of senior Labour party leaders who envisage a Labour-Christian Democratic coalition. He declined to say whether he would stand for re-election himself. (Dagsavisen)
• Kværner board chairman Kjell Inge Røkke warmly thanked group CEO Kristian Siem for all the work he has put in in the past few months. Mr. Røkke’s refinancing plan for Kværner was adopted by unanimous vote. (Dagens Næringsliv)

TODAY'S COMMENT from Aftenposten, Dagbladet, Verdens Gang, and Dagens Næringsliv

Thorbjørn Jagland’s statement yesterday was unique. For the first time in Labour Party history, the party’s own leader has pointed to the orderliness and support apparent in other political parties as something which contrasts sharply with the intrigues and backbiting going on in his own party. This says quite a bit about the poisoned atmosphere currently prevailing in the Labour Party. And it is not often that the main contestants in the political arena offer to the public morsels of political history while they are still fresh. But Mr. Jagland’s revelation yesterday that he had discussed the possibility of resigning with Yngve Hågensen as long ago as election day, when defeat was obvious, was certainly political history. (Aftenposten)

Thorbjørn Jagland and Jens Stoltenberg have called for an open debate on party leadership, but inside of three days this debate has blown up into full-scale war, with poorly-concealed recrimination and backbiting. The two are now holding separate press conferences. If they want to restore peace, they should stand together in public. If Mr. Jagland really wants the best for the party, he may certainly scrutinize his leadership and consider whether the results he has achieved justify continuing. As head of the party, Mr. Jagland is obviously responsible for a party culture which is so insular and controlled that central party members are reluctant to express cautious criticism. As head of the party, he, along with Mr. Stoltenberg, has had a hand in shaping the policies rejected by the voters this year. (Dagbladet)

Thorbjørn Jagland’s statement yesterday about his position as party chairman may be taken as an indication of his intention to fight openly for party leadership. But he has also left the posibility open for an announcement that he intends to step down after party leaders have assessed the situation early next year. We’ll just have to count on him taking the remaining time to take the pulse of the party and weigh his chances for re-election. (Verdens Gang)

Labour’s new party secretary, Martin Kolberg, has introduced a new term: the "low-key debate". Or was it the "low-key conversation"? This is supposed to describe the process that will eventually lead to the nomination of candidates for party chairman and prime minister at the meeting of the national executive committee on 14 January, and subsequently to their election at the national party convention late next year. It all sounds so refined: low-key discussion. But, as Mr. Stoltenberg rightly points out, the problem with discussing people is that it is so easy to forget the politics. After all, when people are the topic of debate, there is an obvious tendency to focus on individuals, their leadership potential, personal charisma, ability to inspire confidence in the public arena and their talent for communicating. The time ahead could be very interesting for everyone except the Labour Party, its elected leaders and its core voters. We may be about to witness the spectacle of a party crumbling up from within – gradually, gracefully – and all low-key, of course. (Dagens Næringsliv)