Finance Minister finds more budget cash (Dagsavisen)

Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss believes he can find more cash for next year’s national budget, but only a little. The question is which of the eighteen spending ministers will walk off with most money from the Government’s budget conference, which started yesterday. "We want to make sure that poorer people are given enough," said Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. He underlined once again that the budget was tight, both because the Storting had already ear-marked substantial sums, and because payouts from the National Insurance Scheme were expected to rise considerably.

PM warns of tough decisions ahead (Dagens Næringsliv)

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik believes this year’s budget negotiations will be the toughest of the seven he has been involved in. According to Mr Bondevik, the total amount of "surpluses and deficits and unpaid bills" has never been bigger. Before the coalition parties have even started discussing the budget they know that public spending will rise by over NOK 10 billion. The battle over direct and indirect tax cuts is therefore expected to be fierce. The Conservatives want as much tax relief as possible, as soon as possible, while the other parties want to postpone any tax cuts as long as they can.

Call for Labour to debate name (Dagbladet/Sunday)

Senior Labour politician, Karita Bekkemellem Orheim, is worried that the name ‘Labour Party’ is frightening voters away. She has therefore called for a debate on whether the party should adopt a new name. "I personally have nothing against the name ‘Labour Party’, and I am very proud to represent it," she said. However, Ms Bekkemellem Orheim does not think that a change of name alone is enough to get the party back on its feet again.

Satisfied despite increased opposition (Nationen)

Opposition to Norwegian membership of the EU increased in February according to Nationen’s latest EU poll. 48.4 per cent of the electorate oppose EU membership, while 41.6 per cent are in favour. Sigurd Grytten, leader of the European Movement in Norway, is nevertheless satisfied with this result. "This poll, together with a number of other polls, confirms that support for EU membership has stabilized at a considerably higher level than we achieved through the whole of last year," he said.

Labour wants EU prices on alcohol and cars (Aftenposten/Saturday)

Labour is hoping that cheaper alcohol and cars will give the party a longed-for boost with the voters. "It is not part of the social democratic ideology to torment people and squeeze as much money as possible out of people’s pockets. We introduced most indirect taxes to finance welfare benefits," said Svein Roald Hansen, Labour’s fiscal policy spokesman.

Christian Democrats better than Labour (Dagsavisen/Sunday)

While feminists previously avoided Christian Democratic Party chairman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland like the plague, she has now been heaped with praise by leading equal opportunities activists, who believe the Government is doing a better job for women than Labour did. According to Gender Equality Ombud Kristin Mile and Ingunn Yssen, head of the Centre for Gender Equality, they have achieved good results in a very short space of time. "We are much more results oriented, and have taken a much more active line. Up until the Gender Equality Act was introduced the Labour Party did a fantastic job. I won’t deny it. But in recent years we have been the ones in the driving seat," says the Christian Democrats’ Valgerd Svarstad Haugland.

Retirement a crisis for many (Dagsavisen)

Three out of four people suffer a personal crisis when they reach retirement age and are forced to leave work, according to a recent survey. Many elderly people suffer a loss of self-confidence as well as a drop in income at the same time as their social network unravels. NOVA – Norwegian Social Research – does not believe the situation is really as bad as that, but has decided to initiate the first major Norwegian survey of the situation adults and elderly people are confronting.

No quick sale for state’s oil assets (Aftenposten)

The Norwegian Storting has instructed the Government to sell off 6.5 per cent of the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI) in Norway’s national oil and reserves, and it looks as though the major oil companies have walked off with most of these assets, worth almost NOK 15 billion. However, it has now become clear that the Government will not be able to sell the entire 6.5 per cent – firstly, because bids have not been received for all of them, and secondly, because some of the bids which have been received do not meet the Petroleum and Energy Ministry’s price.

Worth Noting

• Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik has admitted that sections of the Government’s regional policy are not good enough. He has therefore announced a full review of current measures. (Nationen/Saturday)
• Legendary former Labour leader Gro Harlem Brundtland has advised Jens Stoltenberg to show more enthusiasm and passion as in-coming party leader. (Verdens Gang/Saturday)
• Jens Stoltenberg has said there is no point in raising the issue of Norwegian membership of the EU at this time. However, he had no difficulty in reeling off a whole host of arguments in favour of EU membership. (Dagsavisen/Sunday)
• Former Labour Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland has said that ‘foolish opposition’ to statutory quotas for women on companies’ boards of directors must simply be ignored – and the measure implemented. (Dagbladet/Saturday)
• The Government has allocated NOK 2.83 billion for the construction of the country’s new opera house at Bjørvika in Oslo. An additional NOK 500 million will be set aside to cover potential budget overruns. (Aftenposten/Saturday)
• According to a number of union leaders, Gerd-Liv Valla, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), should refuse to take the seat on the Labour Party’s executive committee traditionally reserved for the LO president. They want ordinary union members to be given the chance to say what they feel about the LO’s close ties with the Labour Party. (Dagsavisen/Saturday)
• LO president Gerd-Liv Valla has refused to say whether she will take her seat on the Labour Party’s executive committee. However, she does not believe the LO will suffer a schism if she does take her seat. (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)
• In 10-15 years Norwegian schools will have to manage with practically no university educated maths teachers. 30 years ago a third of all science graduates became secondary school teachers. Now only one in 13 ends up in the classroom. (Aftenposten/Sunday)
• Norwegian geologists have found what is probably Norway’s first gold deposit. A four-kilometre long gold seam has been found in Rana. The hunt is now continuing in Nordland, with the aim of discovering whether the find is economically viable. (Aftenposten)
• A thousand years after Norwegian Vikings first settled in Iceland, Norway is still making its mark on the volcanic island. 25 per cent of Iceland’s current government is now half-Norwegian. (Aftenposten/Sunday)

Today’s comment from Aftenposten

There is a big difference between the situations in which the Labour Party and the Christian Democratic party now find themselves. Labour continues to slide in the polls, and must face the prospect that ending up as a medium-sized party for a long time to come is at least as likely as regaining its former glory. The Christian Democrats are also struggling in the polls, but to a far lesser degree than Labour – and the party does, after all, have the prime ministerial slot and looks set to stay in office until the next general election. Nevertheless there were interesting parallels to be seen when the two parties held their national executive committee meetings at the end of last week. The main message delivered by both Labour’s Jens Stoltenberg and the Christian Democrats’ Valgerd Svarstad Haugland to their respective party activists was the need to stay the course. Both parties are facing tough times ahead. Labour must show that it can unite behind a party programme that the voters both recognize and approve of. The Christian Democrats, for their part, must avoid the Government’s preparations for the next budget, which started yesterday, ending up in a compromise which many party activists would find hard to defend. We feel it is extremely important for both parties to act realistically and responsibly in relation to next year’s budget. Realism will be difficult for the Christian Democrats when it comes to indirect taxation. As long as the party believes there is a direct link between alcohol-related problems in society and the price of an alcoholic drink, it is difficult to see where the room for compromise lies. But as long as both Labour and the Progress Party are closer to the Conservatives on this issue, the Christian Democrats neither can nor should gain acceptance for their position. The party will therefore have to be compensated in other areas, without exceeding the budget’s total limits. It is going to be anything but easy.