Former chairman criticizes selection process (Aftenposten, Sunday edition)

Former committee chairman Francis Sejersted is critical of the way in which the Storting appoints members to the Nobel Committee. He feels too much is left to coincidence. “The Storting should take a critical look at the selection process, says Professor Sejersted, who served on the committee for 18 years, until 2000.

Just as bad as welfare fraud (Dagbladet, Saturday edition)

Socialist Left MP Ågot Valle takes the view that the Office of the Prime Minister should file charges against former Minister of Health Tore Tønne. In the opinion of one of Norway’s foremost experts on ethics, Mr. Tønne’s conduct is comparable to welfare fraud. In a letter to Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, Mr. Valle, who chairs the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs, asks for further action to be taken against Mr. Tønne. She also asks to be informed why Mr. Valle should be treated differently from someone apprehended in welfare fraud. Mr. Tønne has already stated his willingness to refund any severance pay wrongfully received at the end of his term of office in the Government. This he did at the request of the Office of the Prime Minister after Dagbladet reported that Mr. Tønne had received severance pay during the same period in which he was paid one and a half million kroner in consulting fees in connection with Aker Maritime’s acquisition of Kværner. Ms. Valle feels that Mr. Tønne’s behaviour in going straight from Government office to work for Mr. Røkke makes it necessary to set up rules regulating the transition from political office to private enterprise.

Double-salary arrangement to be discontinued (Dagsavisen, Sunday edition)

The arrangement that secures ex-ministers double pay for one month after their return to the Storting is being dismantled. A parliamentary majority is demanding an end to the practice after it became known on Friday that ex-ministers returning to a seat in the Storting receive a salary from their former ministry for one month after leaving office, in addition to the salary they receive from the Storting. Ex-ministers who go back to other jobs are also covered by the scheme. The Storting is now moving to amend this arrangement.

Six billion kroner gone in one day (Aftenposten, Saturday edition)

Tandberg investors put on the brakes yesterday in response to reports of slower growth. Tandberg’s stock market value plunged over NOK 6 billion to half its former value in a few hours in one of the sharpest drops ever to take place in the course of a single day. Tandberg’s growth has slowed down compared to last year, and the situation is not transitory, says senior management. “New patterns of investment are emerging, and we must assume that they will continue,” says financial director Terje Rogne. Tandberg has been going strong since 1998, with large surpluses and a remarkable growth record. Every time board chairman Jan Christian Opsahl has presented a profit statement, it has been to loud accolades from analysts. But the stock market turmoil has now reached Tandberg, and the outlook is quite grim.

Ordinary police operation blown out of proportion by news media (Aftenposten, Saturday edition)

“Operation Advent” is a mountain the news media created out of a molehill. Its scope is nowhere near the extent depicted in the media, which give the impression that thousands of police officers have mounted a veritable nationwide manhunt for human smugglers and illegal aliens. No one in the Police Directorate will confirm that such a large number of police have been involved. Activity has been high in few police districts, but limited in others. The cost of the operation is also quite modest, compared with the cost of other operations. Centrally-placed sources have told Aftenposten that the Police Directorate has disbursed NOK 3 million altogether from a central fund, and most of this has been to cover overtime pay. A number of police chiefs have told Aftenposten that the operation was intended primarily as a training process for police districts, to be carried out quietly. Since “Operation Advent” commenced, 191 persons have been apprehended in the Oslo area. 71 of these have been deported for various reasons, and 53 have applied for asylum.

Trondheim in mourning (all papers, Sunday editions)

Midtbyen, a city block of 19th century wooden buildings in Trondheim, burned down on Saturday in a fire that started in a deep-fat fryer. Firefighting crews had a hard time containing the blaze, the biggest to strike the Trondheim city centre since 1842. The discussion of what to build on the site is already under way.

Cultural Heritage director calls for NOK 70 million (Aftenposten)

Saturday’s fire in Trondheim has prompted the Director General of Cultural Heritage to demand government action to protect historic sites against fire. He envisages a joint package involving several ministries, and proposes a NOK 70 million programme taking ten years to implement. The people of Trondheim are clear in their views – they want the whole block built up again the way it was. But the building owners will have to agree. Some of them want to put up larger buildings for financial reasons.

Breakthrough for cod farming (NTB)

2002 is set to be a record year for cod farmers. Three million cod fry have been hatched, and the hunt for the ideal farmed cod is on. The Akvaforsk Genetics Center at Sunndalsøra has set its sights on developing successful breeding stock for farmed cod by 2005. General Manager Tormod Spjøtvold believes Norway’s output of farmed cod could reach 100 000 metric tons by 2010.

New senior management lineup in Telenor (Dagens Næringsliv, Saturday edition)

Telenor president Jon Fredrik Baksaas is making it clear that he is the head of the house now, reducing his senior management team from eleven to seven. Net whiz Morten Lundal is no longer part of the inner circle. Telenor has lost billions of kroner on its Internet effort. With former Telenor chief Tormod Hermansen’s major overhaul only a year and a half in the past, Mr. Baksaas has now launched his own restructuring effort. Two business areas are disappearing to make room for two new business areas. Four vice-presidents will be removed from group management and one new one brought in.

Worth noting:

• Russia wants to build an oil terminal in the Petchenga Fjord, just a few kilometres from the border with Norway, fed by a pipeline to be laid from the oil fields east of the White Sea. Four major Russian oil companies are behind the project. Planning is under way, and construction will start in 2004. When the terminal is operating at full capacity around 2007, one oil tanker will leave the terminal every other day, heading down the Norwegian coast. (Aftenposten, Saturday edition)
• Researcher and former state secretary Espen Barth Eide has been selected by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as one of the Global Leaders for Tomorrow. Each year, 100 outstanding leaders from the business, political, academic, volunteer and sporting communities are thus recognized by the WEF in a list published in Newsweek. (NTB, Saturday edition)
• Municipal power companies and the state-owned Bane Tele can compete with Telenor and low-cost broadband providers to offer ADSL services. Minister of Trade and Industry Ansgar Gabrielsen admits that he is very happy about this. (Dagsavisen, Sunday edition)
• The Norwegian Centennial Committee was presented in Washington on Friday. This is a committee backed by prominent Norwegian-Americans from Minnesota. Former Vice-President Walter Mondale, an avid Norwegian “patriot”, will head the committee. “The committee will give the American people a better understanding not only of Norway’s young independence, but also the contributions to our nation of those of Norwegian heritage,” said Mr. Mondale at Friday’s presentation. (Aftenposten, Saturday edition)
• The Ministry of Transport and Communications will take over as owner and operator of the shuttle train to Gardermoen Airport. This rail line is currently operated as a division under the Norwegian State Railway (NSB). The parties of the Government coalition together with the Progress Party voted for the Government bill to spin the rail shuttle off from the NSB and recast it as an independent corporation. The target date for the split is set at 1 January 2003. The shuttle train’s current value is estimated at NOK 670 million. (NTB, Sunday edition)
• The EEA watchdogs in Brussels are turning up the heat on Statoil, having sent another enquiry to Norway about the loans granted at favourable terms to state enterprises. (Aftenposten)
• Norway is a hothouse for the formation of new companies, and tops European statistics on the establishment of new enterprise. Entrepreneurs thrive in stable societies shielded from terror and nurtured on a substrate of oil wealth. (Dagsavisen)
• The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions must terminate its pay policy collaboration with the Government. Why should we cooperate with a Government that wants to deprive us of rights we have worked hard to build up? asks Atle Tranøy, employee representative in the Aker-Kværner Group. (Klassekampen)
• The Labour Party’s parliamentary group has reconsidered its stand and wants to repeal certain aspects of current legislation regulating Sunday opening hours. They do not intend to change legislation on sales of alcoholic beverages, however. (Verdens Gang)
• The trial of Jon Lech Johansen, a Norwegian youth who aroused the wrath of Hollywood by breaking the code which protects DVD films, started today. Reporters all over the world are expected to follow the trial, which is taking place in the Oslo City Hall. If found guilty, he could face a two-year jail sentence. (Aftenposten)
• Keiko the killer whale is big business for the Humane Society of the United States, the largest animal welfare society in the world. The society has spent six million kroner on the celebrity whale this year alone, and they now need more. (Dagbladet)

Today’s comment, from Dagbladet

Our hearts go out to the people of Trondheim, who have just seen one of their most picturesque city blocks burn to the ground. The last major fire in this city was over 160 years ago, so we must acknowledge that the good people of this town have taken very good care of their historic timber buildings. The city centre is a very good example of 19th century architecture interspersed among more modern buildings. Exercising a fair degree of hindsight, it is not difficult to join the outcry against the inadequacy of the fire safety measures that were in place. It is also deplorable that the extensive degree of rehabilitation is what has allowed the fire to spread with such dramatic speed once it got started. Inadequate sprinkler systems and a lack of fireproof structures between buildings are probably important factors which allowed the conflagration to spread. Other owners of old timber buildings should take note, and learn, if they want to protect their property from fire. It costs money, but it pays.