Coalition partners block Minister over gas-fired power stations (Aftenposten)

Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs attempted to side-step his coalition partners’ objections on the gas-fired power station issue, but failed. At a meeting with Naturkraft on Tuesday, Mr Steensnæs was crystal clear – the company’s concession to build polluting gas-fired power stations at Karstø and Kollsnes would not be extended. This resulted in massive pressure from the Conservatives, who say that Mr Steensnæs’s response to Naturkraft breaches the terms of the Sem agreement, the political platform on which the government coalition is based, and the Storting’s decision from two years’ ago. Mr Steensnæs has now admitted that he had not got his cabinet colleagues’ backing for his position on this issue. Naturkraft may therefore still win an extension to its concession.

Steensnæs accused of bluffing over gas-fired power stations (Dagsavisen)

The environmental and social policy organization, The Future In Our Hands, opposes the construction of carbon-free, gas-fired power stations, and describes the Government’s decision to provide billions of kroner in subsidies as bad environmental policy. The construction of so-called carbon-free gas-fired power stations is the flagship project of the ruling Christian Democrats and Liberals. But environmentalists are not impressed. They fear that the Government’s billions in subsidies for gas-fired power stations will get in the way of a serious effort to develop alternative energy sources.

Former minister slams oil companies (Aftenposten)

Former Petroleum and Energy Minister Olav Akselsen (Lab) says the oil companies are too lily-livered when it comes to the environmental debate. They are used to getting their own way, and he believes they will in future have to show more humility in the face of criticism from the environmental lobby, among others. Mr Akselsen was the man who put his name to a number of major reforms, including the privatization of Statoil, the disbandment of the Gas Negotiation Commission and the sale of state-owned assets in the oil sector.

New poll shock for Labour (Nationen)

The Labour Party has received another blow. Nationen’s party barometer for January shows the party has the support of only 20.4 per cent of the electorate. Labour is losing voters to both the right and left. The Socialist Left Party scores a record 16.0 per cent, while the Conservatives and the Progress Party are both stronger than for some time, with 24.9 per cent and 19.0 per cent respectively. Labour’s deputy leader, Hill-Marta Solberg, is extremely disappointed. "This confirms what we have seen in other polls. We couldn’t expect anything else after the focus which has been placed on the party leadership issue. It creates uncertainty among the voters," she said.

Membership of Labour and Conservative Parties cut in half (Aftenposten)

In the past 12 years both the Labour Party and the Conservative Party have seen their membership halved. In recent years only the Progress Party has experienced a steady increase in the number of members. This picture has emerged after Aftenposten analysed the membership figures provided by the various parties for the period 1990 to today. It is the Labour Party which has suffered the most dramatic decline. In 1990 the party had 128,109 members, but by the start of this year the figure had dropped to 52,880. The Conservative Party has been almost as badly hit. In 1990 the Conservatives had the backing of 107,552 members, while on 1 January 2002 they had just 52,453 members.

Teacher training not good enough (Dagbladet)

The training given to student teachers, pre-school teachers and educational specialists has come under heavy fire in three separate reports. According to the reports the students’ training does not prepare them for the reality they will meet in Norwegian schools. Education Minister Kristin Clemet agrees that the criticism of teacher training in Norway makes strong reading. "It is not good enough. But the students themselves must put more effort into learning their trade," she said.

Worth Noting

• Israel’s restrictions on Yasser Arafat’s movements are completely unacceptable and must cease immediately, said Norway’s Ambassador to the UN, Ole Petter Kolby, in a closed meeting of the UN Security Council last night, according to UN sources. (Dagbladet)
• On a Swedish SAS flight passengers must pay NOK 22 for every minute there are in the air, while passengers flying in Norwegian airspace must pay NOK 32 per minute. The Minister of Transport has now initiated an investigation into airfares. (Aftenposten)
• "Arranged marriages are unacceptable under Norwegian law, says Justice Minister Odd Einar Dørum (Lib). He sees only minor differences between an arranged marriage and a forced marriage. (Vårt Land)
• The number of burglaries has been halved in the past five years. But despite this fact, the insurance companies are refusing to lower insurance premiums. (Dagsavisen)
• Gunnar Berge, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, is being forced to resign his office because of the Labour Party’s poor showing at the last general election. In come representatives from the Conservative Party and the Christian Democratic Party. "I realized this was going to happen on election night. From now Labour will on only have one representative on the committee, whose composition reflects that of the Norwegian Storting. We currently have the two representatives and since I am up for election, I am the one who has to leave," said Mr Berge. (NTB)
• Statoil, Norske Skog, Nordea (formerly Kreditkassen), and the Government Petroleum Fund are among the creditors left high and dry by the bankruptcy of US oil company, Enron. The companies have declined to publish details of how much they stand to lose. (Klassekampen)
• Kjell Inge Røkke has called for Aker RGI to be valued according to a ‘presumed’ stock market price. In doing so Mr Røkke is attempting to introduce a new principle for valuing companies in Norway. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Norwegian employees who lose their jobs because the company they work for goes bankrupt, lose out on millions of kroner in unemployment benefits. "The rules must be changed," says the Norwegian Advisory Council on Bankruptcy. (Dagsavisen)

Today’s comment from Aftenposten

After 24 years in the job, it came as no surprise when Carl I. Hagen announced on Tuesday that he would be standing for re-election as chairman of the Progress Party for further two years. And now he has got rid of his critics, he can expect a lot fewer spoilt ballot papers than the last time he was re-elected. It is also interesting to note Mr Hagen’s own explanation of why he is standing for re-election again. He is afraid of what the media would do if the Progress Party had gone in for split leadership – in other words with a new party chairman while Mr Hagen continued as leader of the party’s parliamentary group. Given that the problem will be just as acute in 2004, we should not rule out the possibility of Carl I. Hagen standing for re-election then, too – ‘for the good of the party.