PM holds door ajar to collaboration with Labour (Aftenposten)

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik is not completely ruling out a future collaboration with the Labour Party. Asked explicitly whether the Christian Democrats will fight the 2005 election with the same coalition as last year, he replied: "That is something which the Christian Democrats’ annual conference will decide in 2005. It is too early to be categorical about the outcome. I see that some people are keen to discuss alternative government line-ups. As leader of a government which is working well, I am obviously not going to participate in such speculation. I am more concerned to manage the business of government than to speculate." Mr Bondevik was speaking at the press conference, on Citadell Island near Stavern, which he customarily calls to mark the end of his summer holiday.

Bondevik attacks Trond Giske (Vårt Land)

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik rounded off his holiday yesterday by launching an unusually strong personal attack on Trond Giske, one of the Labour Party’s candidates for deputy leader. "He is not helping to build bridges between Labour and the Christian Democrats, he’s trying to burn them down," said Mr Bondevik, referring to Jens Stoltenberg’s invitation to cooperate in a future government coalition. The PM was clearly irritated over Mr Giske’s remarks about the Christian Democratic Party chairman, Valgerd Svarstad Haugland, earlier this summer. "It is not Valgerd who is intolerant. Some of her critics have publicly demonstrated their own lack of respect for the opinions of others. That is what intolerance is," said Mr Bondevik forcefully.

Stoltenberg wants coalition agreement before the next election (Dagbladet)

Jens Stoltenberg, incoming leader of the Labour Party, wants to be able to present a coalition agreement between the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party as part of the 2005 election campaign. "It will be up to the Christian Democrats to decide if they want to join us or not," said Mr Stoltenberg in an interview with Dagbladet. This is a dramatic departure from the norm in Norwegian politics. Up to now the Labour Party has viewed cooperation with other parties as something to be looked at after the election results are known. Mr Stoltenberg now intends to adopt a political formula which has previously been used by former prime minister Jan P. Syse and the current PM, Kjell Magne Bondevik. Jan P. Syse’s "22 point declaration" from 1989 and the centre alliance’s "Willingness to take power" from 1997 were agreements negotiated ahead of the election, which allowed the voters to make up their minds about which government alternative they wanted to put into power.

Bondevik fears strong left-wing alliance

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik must choose between a tripartite constellation or the Progress Party. Mr Bondevik is extremely worried by the prospect of an alliance between the Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party. "It could complicate the situation if the three parties agree a joint stance. It could make it more difficult to push through the budget," said Mr Bondevik. In that case he will have to choose between what he calls a tripartite constellation and the Progress Party. The Government currently has three possibilities for achieving a parliamentary majority for its policies. It can seek the support of the Progress Party, the Labour Party or the Socialist Left Party.

New "Oslo channel" established (Nationen)

Israeli and Palestinian leaders have been negotiating in Oslo this summer in an attempt to restart peace negotiations between the parties. The Institute of Applied Social Sciences (FAFO), which played a pivotal role the last time the Oslo channel was established, is once again participating in these efforts. Nationen is possession of documents showing that Foreign Minister Jan Petersen has been actively involved in the process. Norway’s new role in the Middle East peace effort was also one of the reasons that Mr Petersen waited so long before taking an initiative on the ‘Juul affair’ earlier in the year.

We beat the Swedes – even without our oil (Dagsavisen)

Despite the fact that they know more about – and earn more money from – pop music and car production than we do, the Swedes do not stand a chance when it comes to wealth. We beat them even if we subtract the billions we make from our petroleum deposits. Including the North Sea oil fields, Norway is the richest country in Europe. A European survey also debunks the myth of our ‘enormous’ private consumption

EU could sweep away union monopoly in Norwegian ports

An EU directive could mean that stevedores belonging to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) will lose their exclusive right to load and unload ships at Norwegian ports. But Per Østvold, leader of the Norwegian Union of Transport Workers, is not prepared to give up without a fight. "I am afraid that this could mean the end of a system we have managed to defend for over a hundred years," said Mr Østvold. "Even though the battle against the directive continues, I think the die is cast. But that does not mean the end of our struggle. We will fight hard to retain our right to priority over non-union workers, and we have a strong hand," he added. Among Mr Østvold’s weighty arguments is an International Labour Organization (ILO) convention which says that the stevedores should have priority when it comes to loading and unloading ships. Norway has ratified that convention.

Worth Noting

• Three generations of Socialist Left Party leaders agree that Jens Stoltenberg’s invitation to participate in a government coalition is historic. Election expert Bernt Aardal says it could be a historic event.
  (Aftenposten)
• Three of the parties represented in the Storting have failed to publish their accounts for last year – one month after the deadline for doing so expired. Carl I. Hagen (Progress Party), Lars Sponheim (Liberal Party) and Kristin Halvorsen (Socialist Left Party) have therefore failed to reveal who is financing the parties they lead.
  (Dagbladet)
• Unemployment in Oslo has risen by more than 40 per cent compared with a year ago, according to figures published by the Directorate of Labour. At the end of July a total of 79,900 people were registered as completely unemployed in Norway, an increase of 19 per cent in the past year. The official unemployment level in Norway is 3.4 per cent.
  (Klassekampen)
• Trade and Industry Minister Ansgar Gabrielsen (Con) has ordered a full review of state assistance to business and industry. The Ministry’s own project team has now concluded that there are too many cooks in the state assistance apparatus, and too little coordination. The project team has recommended that the Norwegian Industrial and Regional Development Fund (SND) and the Norwegian Trade Council be merged together.
  (Nationen)
• Experts estimate that Norwegian business executives spend around NOK 1 billion a year on elk safaris, cosy campfire get-togethers, paintball battles and other attempts to build team spirit. A leading figure at the Norwegian School of Management (BI) has warned against the organizers of spurious courses.
  (Dagsavisen)
• More and more people are booking into Norwegian monasteries and retreats. The increase has been particularly marked for the retreats – places where a person can withdraw from society for a period of contemplation. Ten of the country’s 13 retreats have been established within the past 15 years.
  (Vårt Land)
• More and more Norwegian soldiers are suffering from psychological problems. One in five now receives psychiatric treatment. The number of soldiers who ask for help has increased steadily over the past few years. "We have noticed that more of them are coming to us with motivational problems. The politicians tell them that there are no enemies any more, so there does not seem to be any point in lying face down on the Finnish border and freezing," said Lt. Col. Pål Herlofsen.
  (Aftenposten)
• This year the months of May, June and July have been hotter in most of Møre, Trøndelag and Nordland counties than they have been since records began in 1870.
  (NTB)

Today’s comment from Verdens Gang

On Wednesday a ship belonging to the Leif Høegh shipping line left Drammen bound for Durban in southern Africa. The ship was loaded with 250 vehicles, including 218 MC trucks, which the Red Cross will use to distribute 250,000 tonnes of food to starving people in Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi, Swaziland and Lesotho. The aid effort is one of the largest ever mounted by the Norwegian Red Cross, and behind it is an extraordinary voluntary effort by companies and individuals. More than 300 volunteers have donated over 5,000 hours of their time free of charge to put the equipment in order and get it to the docks at Drammen. The 250 ex-army lorries have been repainted and fixed up free of charge. And a ‘battalion’ of volunteers drove them south from Trøndelag to Drammen, where the ship from Høegh’s shipping line was waiting to transport the equipment free of charge to Durban. The action is a unique example of people’s willingness to help and what voluntary efforts can achieve. The emergency aid would not have been possible without the willingness of the people here to make a contribution. According to the statistics we Norwegians do 156,000 man-years of voluntary work each year. This means that on average each and every one of us puts in one week of unpaid voluntary work. The value of this voluntary work has been put at NOK 31 billion. That the Norwegian Red Cross should have been chosen to play a leading role in the major humanitarian effort which the UN has now initiated in southern Africa is proof that the Norwegian voluntary spirit has been noticed by the global community. The voluntary efforts of its citizens create a positive image of Norway.