Norwegian development assistance may have financed corruption (Aftenposten)

Norway has given NOK three billion in development assistance to Mozambique since 1994. During the same period the same amount vanished in connection with the privatizing of two national banks. For the first time, the Office of the Auditor General now intends to scrutinize all the development assistance funds that have gone to one particular partner country. "We have chosen Mozambique because Norway has a cooperation agreement with that country, and because we send a great deal of money there. We have previously audited the assistance funds that have been provided for special projects, but this is the first time we will conduct a major analysis of a whole country," said Therese Johnsen, Director General at the Office of the Auditor General.

Half of Norway wants Hagen in the Government (Dagsavisen)

A recent poll reveals that half of Norway’s voters believe that the Progress Party should be given a place in the Government as quickly as possible. But the Christian Democratic, Liberal and Conservative parties categorically reject the idea of giving up any of their ministerial seats to Carl I. Hagen’s party. "It is surprising that anyone could so effectively block a majority government," said Progress Party deputy chairman Siv Jensen. In her view, the Government would undoubtedly be more stable with the participation of the Progress Party.

Progress Party is now politically acceptable (Dagsavisen)

According to election researchers, Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen’s strenuous efforts to give his party a politically acceptable profile have borne fruit. In fact, Mr. Hagen can thank his political adversaries in the Socialist Left and Labour parties for the fact that the people want the Progress Party to have a seat in Government. "The parliamentary compromises Progress has reached with the Socialist Left and Labour have served to ease people’s scepticism towards Progress. Their intention was probably to weaken the Government, but the price they paid was helping to fulfil Mr. Hagen’s desire to make the Progress Party acceptable in Norwegian politics," said election researcher Anders Todal Jenssen at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Veto is dividing Labour Party (Verdens Gang)

Signe Øye, Labour Party branch chairman in Østfold County, is worried that the national party conference this autumn will adopt a veto against cooperating with the Progress Party. "Labour cannot decide that cooperating with Progress is out of the question. That would make the next three years extremely difficult," she said. She regards it as likely that a proposal rejecting any cooperation with Progress on the part of Labour will be made at the party conference in November. In the view of 12 of the 14 branch chairmen Verdens Gang consulted yesterday, there is no problem cooperating with Progress on a case-by-case basis. But at the same time, several of the county chairmen said it was difficult for Labour to become accustomed to its position as an opposition party, a situation that will probably continue for the entire Storting session.

Heavy going for Stoltenberg (Dagbladet)

The Labour Party is still suffering from the self-inflicted damage that resulted from the power struggle between Thorbjørn Jagland and Jens Stoltenberg. In addition, there are predictions that Mr. Stoltenberg is facing an unusually difficult future. Today Mr. Stoltenberg is summing up the political events of the past spring. The power struggle against Mr. Jagland is concluded, but harmony has not been restored. Labour is in the paradoxical situation that its chairman, Thorbjørn Jagland, opposes the pre-school day-care reform along with the Socialist Left and Progress parties while Jens Stoltenberg and Labour deputy chairman Hill-Marta Solberg are presenting the issue as a major victory. "Comparing Labour’s conduct during the past few months with its usual performance, it now seems very anonymous," said election researcher Bernt Aardal.

Minister wants hijackers out of the country (Aftenposten)

The Minister of Local Government and Regional Affairs wants to deport the two Iranian airline hijackers who have been granted permanent residence permits in Norway. Finding a solution in cooperation with Russia is the answer. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will look into the possibility of getting other countries to take responsibility for the hijackers," said Local Government Minister Erna Solberg. In the view of the Immigration Directorate, a decision in the matter can no longer be based on Norway’s 1994 agreement with Russia that ensured that the hijackers would not be given the death penalty or extradited to Iran if they were returned to Russia. The Immigration Directorate’s lack of confidence in this agreement was the reason for granting the hijackers residence in Norway. They have been granted only one year’s residency, so the decision can be reconsidered when this period of time has lapsed.

Stock market woes will not obstruct interest rate hike (Verdens Gang)

The sharp fall in the stock market will most likely not have a dramatic effect on the Norwegian economy. According to the experts, there are strong indications that interest rates will rise in July. The economy of Norwegian households is not noticeably affected by recent developments in the stock market. Ten per cent of the Norwegian population owns over 90 per cent of the shares controlled by ordinary households. In countries such as the USA, Great Britain and Sweden the effect of stock market fluctuations on ordinary households is much greater.

WORTH NOTING

• On Wednesday the Oslo Stock Exchange introduced a new register that will make information on inside trading in the stock exchange available to everyone. The register will ensure that all players in the stock market have access to current information on who the primary insiders are, for instance a company’s senior executives or board, and what stock market transactions they have carried out. (Aftenposten)
• When senior government officials recruit other high-level leaders, 67 per cent of them offer jobs to someone they already know. Professional qualifications have little meaning, according to a recent enquiry. In this enquiry senior government officials were asked to assess various elements involved in hiring other leaders. Seventy per cent of all government agencies participated in the enquiry. (Dagsavisen)
• The major merger planned between Den norske Bank (DnB) and the Storebrand insurance company may fall through. After scrutinizing the Storebrand group, DnB is demanding significant alterations in the conversion ratio, which originally specified 1.33 DnB shares for each Storebrand share. It is not at all certain that Storebrand’s shareholders will go along with an adjustment. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Statoil president Olav Fjell has decided that the planned gas-fired power plant in Skogn in Nord-Trøndelag County will not be built after all. Opponents of the plans are celebrating, but 2000 jobs may disappear. (Dagsavisen)
• It has now been decided that the construction project on the site of Oslo’s former Western Railway Station will be designed by the famous Dutch architectural firm OMA and the small Norwegian architectural office Space Group. While the debate on skyscrapers is raging in full force in Oslo, the jury selected the only project that featured a large skyscraper. (Aftenposten)
• Sweet, freshly-picked strawberries are not only tasty, they also prevent cancer due to their antioxidant content. An investigation reveals that if we ate twice as many strawberries as we do now, the incidence of cancer would be reduced by 20 per cent. (Nationen)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagbladet:

Norwegian legislation dictates that Norway’s shoreline areas are to be protected from development. But legislation is implemented by the municipalities, and there the desire to develop is apparently so firmly entrenched that large portions of the shoreline areas around the Oslo fjord and the south coast have been developed. Even if the municipalities are reluctant to approve such plans, developers are clever at finding loopholes. Norway has a long coastline, and there would probably be room for everybody even if seaside cottages were built from the Skagerrak to the Arctic Ocean. But we also have a tradition of ensuring that the public has general access to the shoreline and to non-cultivated land. This is why foresighted politicians gave us legislation governing these areas in the 1960s. But this legislation does little good when the municipalities and developers are both more careless and more cunning than legislators. It is time to toughen the relevant legislation.