‘Fooled’ by Jens (Verdens Gang)

In private conversations with the leaders of the governing coalition parties Jens Stoltenberg (Lab) has repeatedly expressed his doubts about the introduction of a NOK 1,500 per month price cap on pre-school day care fees. "We were very surprised that Mr Stoltenberg and the Labour Party agreed to the price cap in the end, since they are aware of all the scheme’s weaknesses and have said so publicly," said Oddvar Nilsen, leader of the Conservative Party’s parliamentary group. Trond Giske, leader of the Labour contingent on the Storting’s Family Affairs committee, has been named by all concerned as the driving force behind Labour’s decision to join with the Socialist Left Party, Progress Party and Centre Party to form a parliamentary majority in favour of the price cap.

Building bonanza after pre-school day care agreement (Dagsavisen/Saturday)

"The politicians have voted to build opera houses and pre-school nurseries right left and centre, but it perhaps would have been a good idea to ask if the building industry has the spare capacity to do it," said Sverre Larsen, chief executive of the Federation of Norwegian Construction Industry. A shortage of construction workers could make it difficult to reach the target of nursery places for all by 2005. Construction of such a large number of places corresponds to building three national opera houses like the one planned for Bjørvika in Oslo.

Labour calls for Swedish-style alcohol taxes (Aftenposten/Sunday)

The amount of money spent by Norwegians on shopping trips to Sweden must be reduced, and a cut in the taxes on beer and wine is the way to do it, according to the Labour Party. "The tax on wine should be on a par with that in Sweden," concludes Svein Roald Hansen, leader of the Labour grouping which has proposed the changes. Labour has proposed cuts in direct and indirect taxes amounting to around NOK 9 billion over the next three years. The package of cuts is designed to show that the party is taking seriously Thorbjørn Jagland’s claim that its tax policies were largely to blame for Labour’s election defeat last year.

Tax cuts promised but no timetable given (Aftenposten)

"The level of taxes will be cut. It is just a matter of timing and finding the right opportunity," said Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss. The Conservative Party and the Progress Party have strong reservations about the Labour Party’s proposed tax cuts. "We have heard this before, without anything actually being done," said Mr Foss. According to the Progress Party’s Siv Jensen, who chairs the Storting’s Finance Committee, Labour’s new tax cuts do not change current parliamentary realities. "This could be significant, but first the governing coalition parties would have to support it," she said.

Politicians agreed to smother debate on Norwegian republic (Aftenposten/Sunday)

In June last year, just two months before Crown Prince Haakon’s wedding, Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl (Lab), then president of the Storting, and the party leaders decided behind closed doors to smother the emerging debate on whether Norway should become a republic. The party bosses did not want to upset the royal family. It was Labour’s Gunnar Skaug who proposed some 12 months ago that the issue of a Norwegian republic should be evaluated at the same time as a commission is reviewing the Constitution in connection with the celebrations to mark Norwegian independence in 2014.

Call for halt to housing sales (Dagsavisen)

Politicians complain over the intractable housing problem facing young people. At the same time the Norwegian Armed Forces are planning to sell off two million square metres of property at market prices. The Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees and the Labour Party’s youth wing, AUF, have called the move ‘meaningless’, and have declared their intention to block the massive housing sale. The Government has the authority to sell the property at under the current market price. The Socialist Left Party has said the Government must prove its promises to encourage housing construction actually mean something.

Compulsory permanent residence may be abolished (Nationen)

Property disputes, compulsory permanent residence regulations and the Concession Act could all soon become a thing of the past. The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) is currently considering whether to abolish the entire system of concessions in the area of real estate. The ESA is to investigate whether the Concession Act violates legislation to ensure the free movement of capital in the EU’s single market. A previous ruling suggests that Norway could face legal action.

Bondevik slapped down by union boss (Dagens Næringsliv)

"I see that we have been given the blame for this year’s generous wage rises. But the Norwegian economy has not been put in danger because our low paid members have finally been given a proper salary boost," said Gerd-Liv Valla, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). "Together with the leaders of the unions which make up the LO, I am more than happy to take the credit for the fact that so many low paid employees have been given a salary that they might possibly be able to live on. I am proud of this year’s wage settlement. The Bondevik government has contributed nothing positive, but has simply come up with measures which ruin our chances of cooperation."

Horse trading cost NOK 1 billion (Aftenposten)

The Labour Party and the Progress Party want to create a gigantic fund to keep important companies in Norwegian hands and profile Norwegian industry abroad. The Government can thank the Socialist Left Party for the fact that it did not face defeat on this issue, which is completely at odds with its own plans for a sell off of state-owned shares in Norwegian businesses. But the price for the Socialist Left Party’s support was high – NOK 1 billion for a regional fund.

Worth Noting

• If the Constitution is going to be tinkered about with in connection with its 200th anniversary in 2014, it will certainly not be done to the accompaniment of a debate on the monarchy versus a republic. (Aftenposten)

• The children of asylum seekers are not taken into consideration when the Immigration Directorate (UDI) reviews asylum applications. They are not given a voice and are overlooked when applications for family reunification are made. (Dagsavisen)
• Four out of ten holiday properties by the sea or in the mountains have been built on leased land. The new legislation covering leasehold properties means that many people could have to pay NOK 9,000 per hectare in ground rent each year. (Dagbladet/Sunday)
• Parents, pupils and teachers in Norwegian schools are suffering from a paralyzing lack of ambition, according to Education Minister Kristin Clemet. (Verdens Gang/Sunday)
• The political landscape has been turned on its head over the Government Petroleum Fund issue. The Progress Party’s Siv Jensen is pushing the Christian Democrats and the Liberals to give more consideration to human rights and the environment. Once again the Progress Party has teamed up with the Socialist Left Party. Despite it being in the Christian Democrats’ manifesto, the two governments led by Kjell Magne Bondevik have failed to introduce ethical investment guidelines for the Fund. (Dagbladet/Sunday)
• Norwegians are consuming more and more convenience foods. So far this year we have spent NOK 92 million on packet soups, pizzas and plastic-wrapped TV dinners. This is NOK 31 million more than in the same period two years ago. (Dagsavisen/Sunday)
• In their election campaign the Christian Democrats promised that a nursery place would cost no more than NOK 1,500 per month. Now the Christian Democrats are opposing the majority proposal which would ensure this price cap is put into effect. Labour complained that a price cap would be unfair and complicated when it was last in office – now the party supports the idea. (Verdens Gang/Saturday)
• Ingelin Killengreen, Director of Police, has asked the auditors, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, to find out if police officers took bribes when Volvo was chosen to supply police vehicles. "The police service cannot live with the rumours that officers have been on the car maker’s payroll. (Aftenposten/Saturday)
• According to Statistics Norway, interest rates should certainly not be raised, but should perhaps be cut instead. The organization’s statisticians are therefore on a collision course with the Norwegian Central Bank. Developments in the exchange rate will determine which way interest rates will go, according to Statistics Norway. (Aftenposten/Saturday)

Today’s comment from Verdens Gang

Today the Storting will debate a new pre-school day care proposal which the Labour Party, Socialist Left Party, Progress Party and Centre Party have all agreed on. The more we find out about the agreement and the process leading up to it, the more questions arise – particularly about the Labour Party’s role in the whole affair. Labour should have most to gain by reaching an agreement with the Government. Instead the party has signed a deal which gives all the credit to the Socialist Left Party and the Progress Party. Labour now has the appearance of someone who came late to the party and had to be forced to join the other three. In so doing, Labour has thrown away significant political gains and tied itself to an agreement which, at best, will be difficult to implement. At worst, the agreement could result in fewer nursery places, not more. This is not the first time Labour has allowed itself to be pressurized by the parties on either end of the political spectrum in the Storting. It seems as though Labour is afraid to say no to popular proposals from the Socialist Left Party and the Progress Party. But while these two in their own different ways have built themselves up on the basis of populist and simplistic solutions, Labour’s appeal to the voters has been the opposite: solidity and responsibility. The Socialist Left Party and the Progress Party benefit from being populist – Labour does not. The road the party has now chosen could prove dangerous.