Trouble ahead for new alliance (Dagsavisen/Saturday)

The leaders of the Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and Centre Party will run into a number of areas of conflict as they attempt to construct a new centre-left alliance. But their political differences are not insurmountable, according to political commentators. Norway’s relations with the EU is one of the most obvious areas of discord between the three parties. The Socialist Left Party was founded as a protest against the Labour Party’s national security policy. Even though Socialist Left Party leader Kristin Halvorsen has called for a new debate on the party’s Nato stance, a large proportion of members will resist any attempt to tone down its opposition to Nato. Labour also clashes with the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party on whether to build more hydro-electric power stations or protect the country’s watercourses, while the Centre Party is on a collision course with the other two over the management of Norway’s large predators – primarily wolves and bears.

Disagreement over EU could scuttle collaboration (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)

The issue of EU membership could scuttle the attempt by the Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and Centre Party to form a political alliance. "It is quite out of the question to work together with the Labour Party unless EU membership is a completely dead issue. We do not have a lot of absolute requirements, but this is it," said the Centre Party’s deputy leader, Åslaug Haga. But burying EU membership as an issue in the parliamentary term 2005-2009 is out of the question for the Labour Party, according to former party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland. He declined to comment on a potential alliance with the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party, but hinted strongly that the party could decide before the next election to support another application by Norway for EU membership. "We will sit down and analyze the outcome of the EU’s forthcoming expansion and the impact of the euro. Before the 2005 general election we will clarify the situation and issue a recommendation about whether or not to start the application process again," he said.

Stoltenberg unveils strategy for Labour renaissance (Dagsavisen)

Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg believes that the Labour Party’s job is to fill the vacuum that has been created in the Norwegian political landscape after the collapse of the centre alliance. According to Mr Stoltenberg, Labour must become stronger if the centre-left is to win a majority at the 2005 general election. He is emphasizing these four key words: work, pensions, welfare and Europe. "We need a stronger Labour Party if we are to win a centre-left majority at the next general election. The voters must be wooed away from the parties of the right. Labour will have to do the bulk of that job," said Mr Stoltenberg.

Dole queue filled with graduates (Dagbladet)

A growing number of university educated people are ending up on the dole. "The unemployed today are a completely different group of people to what they were ten years ago. What distinguishes them from those who were out of work in the early 1990s is that a great many are university educated," said Hans Kure of the Directorate of Labour’s analysis department. Unemployment has risen most among those aged 30-49 – a massive 33 per cent in October. A total of 76,800 people were unemployed in Norway at the end of October, 28 per cent more than a year ago.

Christian Democrats jump ship to Progress Party (Dagbladet/Saturday)

Despite the mutual distrust between Carl I. Hagen, chairman of the Progress Party, and the Christian Democrat Prime Minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik, one in five defectors from the Christian Democratic Party goes over to the Progress Party, according to the underlying material from MMI’s opinion polls. The Christian Democrats do not switch to the centre parties, Labour or the Conservatives as might have been expected. Around 30 per cent of those who voted Christian Democrat at the general election in 2001 have climbed up onto the fence and now belong to the substantial group of "don’t knows". But of those who say they will vote for another party next time around, 20 per cent say they will vote for the Progress Party. Only around 60 per cent of Christian Democrat voters say they will remain loyal to the party.

LO retrenches in face of financial squeeze (Dagsavisen/Saturday)

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) has been squandering its members’ cash, but has now decided to re-examine its financial commitments in a number of traditional institutions in an effort to cut costs. First on the list are the educational institutions. The LO is pulling out of the Workers’ Education Association in Norway (AOF) in order to start a separate, smaller provider of educational services. As late as this summer, the AOF’s owners stumped up NOK 6 million in fresh capital to rescue it from bankruptcy. In addition, the LO provided a short-term loan of NOK 25 million. The AOF has annual costs of around NOK 60 million. The AOF has played a key role in training and educating union representatives and members of the LO and Labour Party for 71 years.

On the run from threat of honour killings (Aftenposten/Sunday)

Young immigrants are on the run, escaping from violence, death threats and forced marriages. Most of them are girls under the age of 25. Recent figures from the organization, Self-help for Immigrants and Refugees, shows that the number of young men and women from immigrant backgrounds who are on the run from their parents has tripled this year. Last year the organization dealt with 5,200 cases from 97 nationalities. The organization has offices in Oslo, Kristiansand, Ålesund, Trondheim and Tromsø, and will shortly open a new office in Stavanger.

Norwegian electricity prices highest in Europe (Verdens Gang/Saturday)

Never before has there been so little water in Norway’s hydro-electric reservoirs in November. They now contain 20 per cent less water than in a normal year. Only a month ago Norway had the lowest electricity prices in Europe, now we have the most expensive. Normally Norwegian reservoirs still have a 75 per cent reserve at Christmas, but not this year. This week saw a record low. The reservoirs are now only 63.5 per cent full.

Palace demands million in compensation (Aftenpsoten)

The foundation which was supposed to operate a riding school at the royal farm at Bygdøy has gone into liquidation, and can expect a claim for NOK 3.5 million in compensation from the royal family. "The Palace bears most of the responsibility for everything going wrong," claims Kristin G. Andresen. Together with three other celebrity investors, she granted the foundation a NOK 5.2 million interest-free, no-instalment loan. The conflict will now be decided in the Bankruptcy Court.

Worth Noting

• An alliance on the political left between the Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and Centre Party will make life difficult for the Christian Democrats, according to political commentators. The party many be forced to choose sides as early as next autumn. If support for the Christian Democratic Party continues to fall in the period before and during the local elections in September next year, it will provoke a grassroots mutiny within the party, forecasts electoral pundit Frank Aarebrot.
  (Dagsavisen/Saturday)
• Centre Party leader Odd-Roger Enoksen refuses to play the role of backroom support for the Labour Party. He is demanding that a centre-left government should drop the entire issue of EU membership. He has now issued this ultimatum for his participation in a centre-left coalition.
  (Dagsavisen/Saturday)
• The growing problem of drug abuse among immigrants has prompted both experts and the police to sound the alarm. Almost one third of the minors who are registered in Oslo as being drug abusers come from an ethnic minority. Surveys show that the physical and mental health of immigrants with drug problems is worse than that of ethnic Norwegians. Their financial situation is also worse.
  (Aftenposten)
• There is a widespread feeling among police officers that more of them should be out pounding the beat. However, Ingelin Kilengreen, head of the Police Directorate, and Minister of Justice Odd Einar Dørum do not agree.
  (Dagbladet/Sunday)
• A record 41 per cent of those polled feel that Environment Minister Børge Brende is doing a good job, according to a recent opinion poll by MMI. Only eight per cent feel that Christian Democratic Party chairman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland is doing a good job as Cultural Affairs Minister.
  (Dagbladet)
• The National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime has taken a microscope to various financial trusts located in the tax haven, the British Virgin Islands, in the hunt for money the founders of the bankrupt financial services company, Finance Credit, may have hidden away abroad. But the mystery surrounding the whereabouts of Finance Credit’s missing millions remains unsolved.
  (Dagens/Næringsliv/Saturday)
• The Gender Equality Ombud is supposed to fight for equal rights for both sexes, but the Ombud’s own organization lacks equality. Eight out of nine employees are women.
  (Verdens Gang)
• The total ban on smoking will not only apply to restaurants, cafes, pubs and bars. Everything which is considered to be a member of the hospitality industry will have to be totally smoke-free by 2004. This includes company canteens, airports, shopping centres, village halls and banqueting rooms.

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

The news, published in Friday’s Dagsavisen, that the leaders of the Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and Centre Party have started talking about putting together a centre-left alternative has had a mixed reception. Those political scientists who have commented on the move describe the project as historic. They also think it could be politically feasible. The three parties’ voters are closer to each other than they have been up to now. But creating an alliance takes time. It is a matter of building trust between the parties through day-to-day cooperation in the Storting. The Conservative Party’s Jon Lyng spent years building a centre-right alternative to Labour rule. In its day, that too was a daring experiment. The centre-right alternative won the 1965 election. It is not impossible that a centre-left alternative could win the 2005 general election.