Labour could return to one deputy leader (nrk.no)

A straw poll of branch organizations indicates that the Labour Party could return to an organizational set up with just one deputy leader. Ranveig Frøiland, leader of the Hordaland County branch of the Labour Party told NRK that, in her opinion, having just one deputy leader had once again become a very likely solution. She feels it is a good idea to have a tight and clearly-defined party leadership team, balanced by a broadly-based executive committee. Seven of the branch leaders NRK’s Dagsnytt radio news programme has spoken to support the idea of a return to just one deputy leader. They feel it is better for the party to rally behind Hill-Marta Solberg as the single deputy leader to avoid an acrimonious deputy leader debate at the party’s up-coming annual conference.

Defence Minister still has Storting’s confidence (Aftenposten)

The Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and Centre Party all agree that Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold has made more political blunders than she ought. But despite the cannonade of criticism that has been fired at her over the past week, none of the parties in the Storting are prepared to say the Defence Minister does not have their confidence. Marit Nybakk (Lab), when asked whether she has confidence in Ms Krohn Devold, answered in the affirmative. "But I believe she has lost her authority and that she should spend some time building it back up again with respect to the Storting, her own organization and public opinion," she added. Following Ms Krohn Devold’s appearance on Fredrik Skavlan’s television chat show, "First and Last", broadcast last Friday by NRK, Ms Nybakk felt it was a problem to have a Defence Minister who "giggled" over questions about her constitutional responsibility. She also pointed out that there was a difference between being Defence Minister and a student party politician.

Massive criticism of Frisvold and Krohn Devold (Dagsavisen)

Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold and Chief of Defence Staff Gen Sigurd Frisvold have come under heavy fire from former defence chiefs for their handling of the cluster bomb scandal. The Headquarters Defence Command Norway is due to decide today which heads should roll after it became known that the armed forces had trained using cluster bombs at the Hjerkinn firing range – in direct contravention of instructions from the Defence Ministry. That senior officers criticize not only the Defence Minister, but also the Chief of Defence Staff, is extraordinary. The reason is that an order from former Defence Minister Bjørn Tore Godal, which clearly forbids the use of "controversial ammunition", was not passed on to all sections of the armed forces. Gen Frisvold only gave a verbal briefing about the order at meetings with senior officers.

Immigration Directorate raises the bar (Dagsavisen)

The Immigration Directorate (UDI) wants to axe the provision of legal assistance to Eastern European asylum seekers. Trygve Nordby, head of the UDI, wants to choke off the flood of what are considered bogus asylum seekers and reduce their rights. The objective is to frighten people from coming in the first place and reduce the time it takes to process asylum applications. The UDI wants to change the current scheme so that applicants whose request for asylum is "presumed to be bogus" will not be offered legal assistance. The move will apply to asylum seekers from Russia and most other Eastern European countries. So far this year, 3,084 people whose applications for asylum the UDI presumes to be bogus have arrived in this country. The Norwegian Organization for Asylum Seekers (NOAS) and the Norwegian Bar Association both believe the proposal violates the UN Refugee Convention and weakens the right of asylum seekers to due process under the law.

No Jens effect (Dagbladet)

A massive 60 per cent of voters think the Labour Party will get neither more nor less votes when Jens Stoltenberg takes over as party chairman at Labour’s annual conference this weekend. But, according to a poll carried out by MMI on behalf of Dagbladet last week, expectations are clearly higher among Labour voters. 24 per cent of those polled believe Labour will get more votes with Mr Stoltenberg as leader, two per cent believe the party will get fewer votes, while 60 per cent do not think Mr Stoltenberg’s takeover as party chairman will have any effect on the number of votes it receives.

EEA costs NOK 1 billion a year (Aftenposten)

The EEA Agreement costs Norway almost NOK 1 billion each year in direct expenses. Almost NOK 900 million goes straight to the EU, three times as much as in 1994. This is the price for the EEA Agreement, and its various cooperation programmes. In 1994, when the EEA Agreement came into force, Norway contributed around NOK 100 million to various cooperative ventures. The country’s annual financial commitments have now risen to around NOK 700 million, according to a recent report prepared by the EFTA Secretariat in Brussels. If expenses linked to the EEA "subscription fees", some tens of national experts at the European Commission and the EFTA/EEA running costs are added, the total comes to well over NOK 1 billion each year, according to figures Aftenposten has compiled.

Government spends NOK 500 million on anti-terror measures (Dagsavisen)

The Government has spent NOK 500 million on anti-terrorism measures since September 11 last year. According to a security expert, the politicians have not spent that money particularly effectively. In a series of articles over the past few days Dagsavisen has shed light on Norway’s new anti-terror contingency planning. The Storting will today discuss the Government’s national security report, which outlines the country’s anti-terror activities in the time ahead. "Politicians are largely ignorant about what security management and contingency planning is all about," said Terje Aven, professor of risk analysis and security at the Stavanger University College.

Statoil must find more oil (Dagens Næringsliv)

Olav Fjell, chief executive of Statoil, is pumping up ever increasing amounts of oil, but cannot manage to replace the company’s reserves. He has warned that exploration costs in Norway will be halved if he is not allowed to search for oil in the Barents Sea. "I am very happy with the company’s financial result," said Mr Fjell, who was in Oslo yesterday to present Statoil’s third quarter results. Profits in the third quarter amounted to NOK 3.2 billion. And while the international oil giants have reduced their production targets, Mr Fjell was in a position to announce an increase in Statoil’s oil production estimates for 2002.

Worth Noting

• Though the all-time-high of two years ago is still a long way off, the Oslo Stock Exchange’s total capitalization has risen by over NOK 40 billion in the past 40 days. Listed companies have clawed back 10.9 per cent of the share value which evaporated in the slump that hit rock bottom in September.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Den norske Bank (DnB) and several other banks have been making a fortune out of the rise in interest rates – by raising their own lending rate. But they have not been as quick to increase the interest they pay on bank deposits. DnB raised its lending rate by 0.5 per cent, but it was not until three months later that the interest on deposits was increased. The majority of customers receive only 0.25 per cent on their current accounts.
  (nrk.no)
• Today there are 2,500 places vacant at the country’s colleges of higher education. According to figures from the Universities and Colleges Admission Service, Norway, educational establishments in regional districts are losing the battle to attract students, who prefer studying in the major cities or abroad.
  (Aftenposten)
• Despite the gloomy forecasts, two out of three farmers believe that their farms will still be in operation in 20 years’ time. And over half believe that their farms will still be owned by someone in the family.
  (Nationen)
• Spanish fever is dying out. "Unlike the popular impression, elderly people are not queuing up for a nursing home place in Spain. Politicians may say we must build nursing homes in southern Europe, but elderly people are probably not ready for it just yet," said Torill Lønningsdal, project manager for a collaborative effort involving nine local authorities in Vestfold County. This is a two-year pilot project offering short-term stays in Spain to those who, for medical or social reasons, cannot travel on a normal package tour.
  (Verdens Gang)

Today’s comment from Dagbladet

When the Prime Minister calls an emergency press conference on a Saturday afternoon to say that he has confidence in his Defence Minister, the warning bells should ring. It only serves to show how thin the ice is under Kristin Krohn Devold’s feet, in relation to the parliamentary opposition parties. It could even be claimed that Mr Bondevik’s unusual move underlined this fact and made her position even more difficult. It was Ms Krohn Devold’s comments on a television chat show on Friday, in which she said she did not have full control of the Armed Forces, that triggered another salvo of criticism. Obviously, she should never have said such a thing, and she herself has admitted that she should have phrased her reply differently. It has to be said that comments made during a television entertainment programme should not carry the same weight as if they had been uttered from the podium in the Storting – for which politicians from a great many parties can thank their lucky stars. But the reason that her comments provoked such a furore this time is because Ms Krohn Devold has already managed to screw things up for herself. On a number of occasions recently the Defence Minister has proved not to have oversight or control of what is going on lower down in the system. This is serious. The Bondevik government cannot have a Defence Minister in whom the Storting’s confidence has worn thin. The Armed Forces are undergoing a dramatic overhaul, and we are at war. Under such circumstances Mr Bondevik is not well served in having a Defence Minister who has kept her seat only because the opposition does not want to topple the Government. More than ever, we need a Defence Minister behind whom both the Storting and public opinion can unite. Today, Ms Krohn Devold is not that person.