Thorbjørn and Jens not speaking (Dagsavisen)

Thorbjørn Jagland and Jens Stoltenberg have not spoken to each other for a week. The last time they spoke was after the national executive committee meeting last week. On Tuesday morning the Labour Party chairman, Thorbjørn Jagland, collapsed and was taken to hospital. "I will visit him when he is up to it," said Labour’s deputy leader, Jens Stoltenberg later that same day. One week has passed, but the opportunity has still not presented itself. Labour’s national executive committee meets again on Monday. At that meeting the committee responsible for developing the party’s new political programme was to have been elected. At a meeting today the rest of Labour’s party leadership will decide if this step will have to be postponed because of Mr Jagland’s continued absence.

Christian Democrats struggle in Conservatives’ shadow (Aftenposten)

The Christian Democratic Party has the premiership, but lower down the ranks the party is struggling to maintain its enthusiasm for participation in the governing coalition. The party faithful are particularly disgruntled with Local Government Minister Erna Solberg (Con). They claim Ms Solberg is turning the Government’s regional policies away from the Christian Democratic line. Many Christian Democrats are afraid that the Conservatives, who want to abolish the county council layer of local government altogether, will have too much influence and will thereby contribute to a further weakening of the county council’s administrative powers.

Nurses strike (Dagbladet)

221 nurses at ten hospitals have gone on strike. The action will quickly escalate to include 790 nurses at 28 hospitals. The nurses started their strike after the breakdown of last night’s arbitration efforts. The Norwegian Nurses’ Association has warned it will rapidly escalate the conflict. The next group of nurses will be taken out as early as Wednesday, after which the number of striking nurses will be increased day by day.

Pharmaceuticals consumption skyrockets (Aftenposten)

In just 20 years Norwegians have almost trebled the amount they spend on medicines. From 2000 to 2001 alone, the consumption of pharmaceutical products rose by almost 8 per cent. Most of the money goes on cholesterol-lowering tablets, asthma medicines and anti-depressants. "One important reason for this is a switch to more effective, but often more expensive medicines. Innovative medicines account for almost 40 per cent of sales," said Helge Lund, head of the Pharmaceuticals Industry Association.

Three-quarters of Labour leaders are men (Dagsavisen)

The Labour Party’s women’s problem is not just a matter of grumpy old men discussing which man should be party leader. Women are seriously underrepresented at local level, too. Karita Bekkemellem Orheim, leader of the party’s women’s rights group, admits that the Labour Party has a problem with regard to women. "Our ambition must be to reach a much higher percentage of women than the figures show we have today," she said. Ms Bekkemellem Orheim believes Labour men have a duty to allow women to take leading positions within the party.

More power to the voters (Verdens Gang)

Local Government Minister Erna Solberg wants to abolish the voters’ right to delete candidates from parties’ ballot papers. "Being able to delete candidates gives activist groups too much influence over the election results. If people want to change the parties’ ballot papers, we would prefer them to cumulate votes, not delete candidates," said Ms Solberg. Deleting candidates is particularly prevalent in local government elections. And it is no accident who gets deleted. Women and younger politicians are pushed out in favour of middle aged men.

Worth Noting

• Despite a recent opinion poll showing a majority of the population in favour of EU membership, expert Kate Hansen Bundt from Europa-programmet, an independent and interdisciplinary research and competence centre, does not believe the Norwegian people have had a change of heart. "The launch of the euro and EU expansion are not enough. What is important for Norwegians is what is happening on the domestic front," she said. (Aftenposten)
• Social Affairs Minister Ingjerd Schou has welcomed Jens Stoltenberg’s proposed measures to abolish poverty. "Very nice, but there is nothing new here that is not already part of government policy," she said. (Dagsavisen)
• Norwegian emergency legislation is very like that of the USA. If the country were to involved in a war or experience war-like conditions, Norwegian legislation permits long-term internment without charge or trial, and the setting aside of basic human rights. (Nationen)
• Norwegian agricultural policy limits the selection available in the country’s supermarkets, according to market researchers at ACNielsen Norge. (Dagbladet)
• Education Minister Kristin Clemet (Con) has confirmed that Norwegian schools may use text books containing advertisements whenever they like. "I am not planning any initiative to check the quality of the commercially financed textbooks which are available in the Norwegian market," she said. (Verdens Gang)
• Children and Family Affairs Minister Laila Dåvøy refused to accept that the percentage of women on the Storting’s Pensions Committee was two percentage points lower than the 40 per cent minimum stipulated by law. The Progress Party was therefore obliged to find a woman. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Most Norwegian business leaders believe their companies will grow this year. Gjensidige Nor has questioned 1,900 executives and is surprised over how optimistic they are for the future. (Aftenposten)
• Many Norwegian local authorities which are experiencing a net decline in their populations have imposed residency requirements on purchasers of housing property in their areas. The aim is to prevent properties being sold as second homes which are then left empty for most of the year. However, according to a survey carried out on behalf of the Agricultural University of Norway, such residency requirements lead to an increasingly aging population and frighten young people from building new houses in the area. (Dagbladet)
• In connection with weddings carried out at the Islamic Cultural Centre in Bergen, bridegrooms have paid up to NOK 1 million as a gift to the bride. County Governor Svein Alsaker has bridled at what he claims are illegal dowries, and has asked the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs to reconsider the religious community’s licence to carry out weddings. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Dagbladet

Labour’s deputy leader, parliamentary leader and prime ministerial candidate, Jens Stoltenberg, has launched proposals for social reform which are intended to ensure everyone a job, further education or social security benefits it is possible to live on. In other words, Mr Stoltenberg wants to abolish poverty. Norway is such a rich country that we should be able to reach such a goal, he has declared. It is laudable move, at a time when all political thinking seems to have been pushed aside by the party’s ongoing leadership battle. That the Labour Party wants such a fundamental reform is good news for loyal party followers and, not least, for those who live in dire financial straits and miserable circumstances.