Giske making heavy weather en route to the top (Aftenposten)

Trond Giske is reluctant to work with the Christian Democrats. Instead he wants to team up with the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party to bring Labour back into office. It is a wish that could put him out of the running for the job of Labour’s deputy leader. His opposition to EU membership could also trip him up. Elected officials from Labour’s Troms branch say the party needs fresh blood at the top. Jens Stoltenberg is no ‘shoo-in’ as party chairman, they claim.

Labour must have two women at the top (Dagsavisen)

Leading women representatives from a majority of the Labour Party’s branches are calling for two of the top four positions at national level to be given to women. The balance of the sexes was upset when party secretary Solveig Torsvik was replaced by Martin Kolberg before Christmas. The Labour women’s demand clashes with the views of deputy leader Jens Stoltenberg and Mr Kolberg who believe that the requirement for balance is met as long as the national executive committee has the right composition.

Ready to debate Labour policy (Dagens Næringsliv)

At last Labour is ready to think politics. Public vs. private ownership, growth vs. conservation, town vs. country – these will be the major points of conflict in the discussions to come. After Thorbjørn Jagland announced his decision not to stand for re-election as party chairman, the party looks set to embark on a fundamental political debate. The party’s political programme committee, led by Jens Stoltenberg, and the new ‘Dialogue Forum’, headed by Thorbjørn Jagland, will now embark on a wide-ranging political review leading up to Labour’s annual conference in November.

Frozen EEA Agreement could be dramatic for Norway (Aftenposten)

The EU’s refusal to adjust the EEA Agreement could have dramatic consequences for Norway, according to the European Movement in Norway, which has called for clarification from the Government. Supporters of Norwegian membership of the EU are demanding a new European strategy from the Government. If Norway cannot improve the EEA Agreement in the foreseeable future, a new approach must be hammered out, says Sigurd Grytten, leader of the European Movement in Norway.

Third of Socialist Left voters favour EU membership (Nationen)

31 per cent of Socialist Left Party voters say they support Norwegian membership of the EU, according to a poll carried out on behalf of Nationen by Sentio-Norsk Statistikk in January. Although 62 per cent of the party’s voters remain opposed to membership, support for the EU within the party has never been stronger. In the past two years the number of Socialist Left Party voters who are also supporters of EU membership has never exceeded 26 per cent. However, deputy leader Øystein Djupedal rejects the idea that the party is changing its position on the issue. "Obviously, a party with 317,000 voters would have a considerable number of EU supporters. It seems likely that a large number of our voters disagree with the party’s unambiguous rejection of EU membership, but our policy remains unchanged," said Mr Djupedal.

Commission proposes rebuilding the Church of Norway (Vårt Land)

The Church of Norway’s own commission wants to disestablish the church and create a new relationship between church and state. Ahead of the commission’s next meeting agreement has been reached to propose a completely new structure for the Church of Norway. Vårt Land has learned that the commission, led by Trond Bakkevig, will propose a change in the Constitution and hand over the right to appoint bishops and deans to the Church itself – they are currently appointed by the Government. Other proposals include centralizing the Church’s finances, which are today divided between local and central government bodies, and maintaining the Church of Norway as a broad-based religious community, with a mass following.

Entire Statoil board could face the sack (Dagens Næringsliv)

Statoil’s entire board of directors could face the sack, according to Leif Terje Løddesøl, newly appointed leader of the company’s selection committee. "Statoil must be run in a way which has the confidence of all its shareholders," said Mr Løddesøl. "Today’s board was hand-picked by the Government when the state was sole owner of the company. The entire composition of the board must therefore be reviewed in light of the company’s ownership structure following privatization."

Worth Noting

• Grete Knudsen, a member of Labour’s national executive committee, is hopping mad with former cabinet colleague Bjarne Håkon Hanssen, who yesterday came close to announcing his own candidacy as deputy leader of the Labour Party. (Dagbladet)
• Jury members are often more prejudiced than we suppose. They do not come to trial with an open mind. For this reason the jury system should be abolished, says attorney Janne Kristiansen in an interview with Aftenposten. As the Orderud and Baneheia murder cases draw to a close, the Norwegian Bar Association has called for the jury system to be put under the microscope one more time. (Aftenposten)
• Fisheries Minister Svein Ludvigsen launched into this week’s meeting marathon on the crisis in the Norwegian salmon farming industry. Two EU Commissioners have promised Mr Ludvigsen help to resolve the crisis. (Aftenposten)
• Labour and Government Administration Minister Victor D. Norman wants to force government services to hire immigrants. In future civil service managers will have to hire immigrants if they are as well qualified as Norwegian applicants for the job. (Aftenposten)
• The Labour Party drops four percentage points to 21.5 per cent according to a poll carried out for TV2 and VG in January. The Conservatives move ahead 0.5 points and are the country’s largest party with 23.5 per cent of the electorate behind them. (Verdens Gang)
• Arne and Gjert Wilhelmsen, major Norwegian shareholders in Royal Caribbean, could become the world’s new kings of cruise. But in Miami the powerful chief executive of the world’s largest cruise line, Carnival’s Micky Arison, is doing all he can to wreck the merger agreed between Royal Caribbean and P&O Princess. (Aftenposten)
• Akershus and Østfold counties should be merged together, according to municipal executives in the two counties. A recent report also demonstrates there are many advantages to a merger between Hedmark and Oppland. (Nationen)
• Young people between the ages of 16 and 24 are the most frequent users of the various cultural activities on offer. Young people watch less television than their parents and grandparents, and spend more time in museums and libraries, and at the cinema. (Aftenposten)
• The owner of the dogs which killed seven-year-old Johannes Åsheim last Thursday, has been charged with failing to keep her dogs in a safe manner and contravening the Wildlife Act. (Dagbladet)

Today’s comment from Dagbladet

Once again the jungle drums can be heard. The new opera house at Bjørvika could, in a worst case scenario, cost up to NOK 3.7 billion – almost twice as much as the figure approved by the Storting. The worst case calculation has been arrived at by consultants commissioned by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs and the Finance Ministry. The original cost estimates included in the report to the Storting on the new opera house which was presented by then Cultural Affairs Minister Anne Enger Lahnstein amounted to NOK 1.8 billion. It was on this basis the Storting voted to approve both the construction of a new opera house and its location at Bjørvika. The Storting gave its approval long before anyone could give a realistic costing of the project. The architectural competition had not been announced, the solution not chosen. Only now are there specific plans on the table which give an indication of what the opera house will cost. Everyone knew it was going to be expensive. The most important thing now is to get it built and sort out the traffic congestion surrounding it. It serves no purpose to use a not unexpected cost overrun to go back on the original decision or lead us off on another interminable debate about where the opera house should be located.