Petersen slams Labour’s Mid-East policy (Dagbladet)

Foreign Minister Jan Petersen has made a fierce attack on Labour’s management of the Oslo process and Norwegian Middle East policy. "If Labour had been more open and not made sure that only the party’s own people were appointed to all the important positions, Norway’s Middle East policy would be more robust," said Mr Petersen. He believes the controversy surrounding Mona Juul’s peace prize money is in many ways a result of Labour’s actions. "The husband-and-wife team Mona Juul and Terje Rød-Larsen have done – and are still doing – a good job. Let us be clear about that. But at the same time a number of myths have grown up about how important certain individuals are for Norway’s Middle East policy. Norwegian policy on the Middle East is not generated in Israel by Mona Juul or anyone else. It is shaped in the Foreign Ministry under my leadership. Here we have a large number of extremely able officials who are doing a very important job." Mr Petersen added that the tight-knit Labour network on Middle East issues "was now history".

Give police water canons, says Progress Party (Klassekampen)

The Progress Party is calling for the police to be equipped with water canons, to be used against demonstrators when the World Bank comes to Oslo in June. The proposal has been made by the party’s representatives on the Storting’s Justice Committee. According to the Progress Party MPs water canons would improve the police’s ability to tackle any demonstrators bent on causing trouble during the World Bank conference to be held in Oslo 24-26 June.

LO shunned – ended up as VIPs (Dagbladet)

"In just a few days we went from being unwanted in Israel, the state’s enemy number one, to being a good friend," said vice president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), Finn Erik Thoresen. The Israeli trade union, Histradrut, yesterday asked the LO to organize an international conference about the Palestinians’ situation. A few days ago the LO delegation was close to being deported from Israel because of the boycott of the country which the organization has initiated. But on Tuesday the Israelis had completely changed their minds.

Industry faces massive jump in power costs (Dagens Næringsliv)

Today the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) will tell Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss that Norwegian industry’s exemption from the electricity tax cannot continue. If Mr Foss accepts the ESA ruling, Norwegian heavy industry faces a whopping addition to its electricity bills. The ESA does not accept the fact that Norwegian industry pays no electricity tax, while ordinary consumers must pay an additional nine per cent in tax. One solution could be for the rate for industrial consumers to be set at between one and four per cent. According to representatives from heavy industry, each øre they have to pay in electricity tax amounts to NOK 450 million in additional costs. An alternative to a substantial electricity tax could be that the industry commits itself to wide-ranging energy-saving measures.

Giant docks threaten beach beauty-spots (Aftenposten)

The Fisheries Ministry is working on a proposal to create a major new container port somewhere along the inner end of the Oslo Fjord. Four locations are considered suitable, and the Ministry admits that it could face a storm of protest from environmentalists, who have already described the feasibility study as inadequate. The Oslo City Council wants to get rid of its own ugly container docks and associated traffic, and sell off the attractive sea-front property for housing, among other things. A sale of this kind is expected to generate substantial revenues for the cash-strapped Council. The problem is that no other local authority wants a container port on its doorstep either.

LO divided over Labour links (ANB)

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) is split down the middle over whether LO president Gerd-Liv Valla should have a seat on the Labour Party’s central committee. According to a straw poll carried out by the LO newspaper, LO-Aktuelt, the leaders of 11 member unions say she has no business being there, while the leaders of the biggest LO unions are in favour. Two are undecided. Ms Valla herself remains silent on the issue.

1.1.1 Worth Noting

1. After four months as chief executive, Helge Lund yesterday announced financial results for the company which sent its shares soaring. Mr Lund has departed from the strategy followed by his predecessor, Kjell Almskog, in the majority of areas. (Dagens Næringsliv)
2. The opposition parties in the Storting are preparing to slow down the Government’s sell-off of state assets. The number of state-owned shares in companies such as Telenor, Statoil and Den norske Bank which will be put up for sale could also be significantly lower than that previously announced. (Aftenposten)
3. The Swedish financial services group, SEB, says that the five per cent tranche of shares it holds in Orkla is a purely financial investment. Nevertheless, the stake could represent financial instruments controlled, amongst others, by billionaire supermarket owner Stein Erik Hagen. (Aftenposten)
4. In future, local authorities with falling populations will be given less time to adjust. From the new year the Government will use the most recent population statistics when state cash is to be shared out between the local authorities. (Nationen)
5. After many years in which jobs were at a premium, the demand for newly qualified lawyers is booming. However, the prospects for architects and engineers is the exact opposite, according to recent figures from a survey carried out in 2001 and published today. (Dagsavisen)
6. Our most modern motorway – the E18 through Vestfold County – is tempting drivers to smash every speed limit. After the speed limit was raised from 90 to 100 km per hour, drivers have increased their speeds by much more. The traffic police are out day and night with up to four patrols. And driving licences are confiscated on a daily basis. (Dagbladet)
7. Almost 12,000 cases of infectious diseases were reported last year, according to the National Institute of Public Health. Half of those affected were infected in Norway, while 38 per cent were infected abroad. (NTB)
8. Professor Per Andersen has been made a member of the Royal Society in London. The Royal Society, founded in 1660, is considered to be the UK’s most august assembly of scientists. Mr Andersen, who has now retired, was professor of neurophysiology at the University of Oslo. (NTB)
9. City folks like to dress up in one of the many traditional Norwegian costumes, the bunad, and that provides a cash boost to the country’s rural areas. Annual sales of bunader amount to NOK 800 million. Over 3,000 women around the country are currently employed in the bunad business. Only 40 companies in Norway employ more people. (Nationen)

1.1.2 Today’s comment from Vårt Land

The Labour Party has published proposals for a new manifesto, in the middle of the parliamentary term. The excuse is next year’s local elections, but the reality is rather that the party wants to get back on the offensive with a new policy platform following last autumn’s general election defeat. The new programme also marks the party’s change of leadership. Work to develop the policy proposal has been led by Jens Stoltenberg, while the existing platform has Thorbjørn Jagland’s signature all over it. With issues such as cheaper and more available pre-school day care, secured financing for the state pension scheme, higher basic pension levels and cheaper housing at the top of the agenda, the Labour Party is back on familiar territory for traditional voters. But these are not controversial issues – parties of all persuasions support these aims. The disagreement has revolved around the kind of measures needed to achieve them, and how quickly we can afford to move towards them. For a while it seemed as through the Labour Party would join forces with the Socialist Left Party and the Progress Party to force the Government into moving faster, even though it would mean public expenditure exceeding agreed spending limits. But now we can see the outline of an agreement between the Labour Party and the Government on both pre-school day care and pensions.

The 17 May is Norway’s national day. We wish all our readers a happy holiday! We will be back after the Whitsun weekend on Tuesday, 21 May.