Fewer Norwegians against war in Iraq (Aftenposten)

The majority of people still oppose US military action against Iraq, even if the UN sanctions such a move. But the majority is smaller than in January. Opposition to a war without a UN resolution remains overwhelming. 57 per cent of those polled believe the USA should not initiate military operations against Iraq even if the UN Security Council should provide a mandate for such action. 31 per cent say they support military action under such circumstances, while 12 per cent are uncertain. In January the figures were 64, 26 and 10 per cent respectively.

No Norwegian soldiers to Iraq (Verdens Gang)

According to numerous sources, both the Foreign Ministry and the Norwegian high command feel that Norwegian soldiers would not be able to participate in a military campaign in Iraq even if the Bondevik government should support a UN-backed offensive under the leadership of the USA. "It is too late. If Norwegian forces were to participate in the front line, they should have been in training now," said one source familiar with the Foreign Ministry’s planning operations.

No need for pay rises (Dagsavisen)

Even without a single extra krone in additional salary, Norwegian workers will maintain their purchasing power next year, according to figures from the official commission that calculates the effects of the country’s annual pay settlements. The commission estimates an inflation rate of 3 per cent in 2003. But thanks to last year’s generous pay settlement, Norwegian employees can look forward to a knock-on effect of 2.5 per cent this year. "With a zero settlement this year, our purchasing power will remain on average at the same level as 2002," said Svein Longva, head of Statistics Norway.

Pay hike leaves industry with nasty hangover (Aftenposten)

Industrial companies’ competitiveness took a dramatic turn for the worse last year. Generous wage settlements and a strong Norwegian krone are to blame. But union representatives at Aker Kværner’s Rosenberg yard in Stavanger will not accept responsibility for losing the Snow White engineering contract to Spain. "This has nothing to do with salary levels. We would have to have been paid the same as in 1980 to compete with them," said Eldar Myhre, chief union representative at Aker Kværner.

MPs furious with Gabrielsen (Dagbladet)

The state-aided transfer of industrial production abroad has prompted anger in the Storting. "We have a Trade and Industry Minister who is not taking responsibility for anything. During the time he has been in office he has taken no initiatives to support Norwegian industry. He has no objective and no plan. And everything that goes wrong, is someone else’s fault," said Labour’s Olav Akselsen, chairman of the Storting’s Business and Industry Committee. Trade and Industry Minister Ansgar Gabrielsen admits that the scheme is a paradox.

Ten per cent of taxpayers walk off with half the gains (Aftenposten)

Arne Skauge, chairman of the Tax Commission, is not exactly Robin Hood: he is, in fact, planning on giving NOK 5 billion to the country’s richest people. They walk off with almost half of the net NOK 11.5 billion in income tax and wealth tax relief that the Tax Commission is proposing to hand out. At the other end of the income scale, the benefits are smaller. The tenth of the population on the lowest incomes will get around NOK 130 million in tax relief.

Food prices could fall dramatically (Verdens Gang)

Norway could be forced to halve the amount it provides in agricultural subsidies. This could lead to a sharp drop in food prices, as well as far fewer farmers. Yesterday, the World Trade Organization issued the first draft of its proposals for a new regulatory framework for the world’s agricultural sector. "If this is what is finally adopted, there will not be much to smile about. The Norwegian agricultural sector would face a dramatic situation, if indeed there were any farmers left," said the Liberal Party’s Geir Olsen, political adviser at the Agriculture Ministry.

Sponheim: New WTO rules will wipe out Norwegian farming industry (Nationen)

"If this proposal is adopted, the entire Norwegian farming industry would be wiped out. There would not even be anyone left to take care of the landscape," said Agriculture Minister Lars Sponheim (Lib). According to the Norwegian Farmers’ Union, Norwegian farmers would see their incomes slashed by NOK 10 billion if the WTO’s chief negotiator wins acceptance for his proposal.

Enoksen to resign as Centre Party leader (Aftenposten)

After four years as chairman of the Centre Party, Odd Roger Enoksen is to step down at the party’s national conference in March, leaving the way open once more for a woman to take control: Åslaug Haga. After much doubt and deliberation, she has decided to accept nomination as party leader, though she originally denied that this was a possibility. However, the pressure on Ms Haga, who is currently deputy leader, was too great. A majority of the party’s country branches have clearly indicated that they want her to be the next party leader.

NOK 100 million to smash prostitution rings (Dagsavisen)

Justice Minister Odd-Einar Dørum (Lib) announced yesterday that in the next three years, NOK 100 million would be spent on the battle to destroy the criminal networks behind the trade in women and children. People trafficking is the most lucrative illegal activity in Europe, after drug running. Thousands of women and children are affected each year. "This is the modern-day equivalent of the slave trade, and we must fight to destroy these networks," said Mr Dørum.

Norway a cash cow for SAS (Aftenposten)

Competition from low-cost challenger Norwegian definitely did not have any impact on SAS’s ability to milk Norwegian airline passengers last year. Statistics and a massive advertising campaign for cheap tickets may have created the impression of a real drop in prices, but SAS’s year-end results – published yesterday – show a completely different picture. While the airline’s ticket prices rose moderately in the rest of Scandinavia last year, they skyrocketed in Norway. Developments in the company’s yield (average earnings per passenger kilometre) for last year show that on average SAS increased the price of a domestic Norwegian flight by 27 per cent in 2002.

1. Worth Noting

• The Centre Party’s Åslaug Haga expects Foreign Minister Jan Petersen to confirm Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik’s change of position on the Iraq conflict. Yesterday, the PM underlined that the UN weapons inspectors must take as much time as they feel necessary, which puts him close to the Franco-German position on the conflict.
  (Dagbladet)
• 149 organizations have joined the peace initiative No War Against Iraq. "This looks like being a demonstration for peace that is unique in Norwegian history," said professor Berge Furre. On behalf of 1,800 academics, he will today hand over a petition calling on the Storting and the Government to take a stand against the preparations for war on Iraq.
  (Klassekampen)
• At any given time, at least 15,000 children under the age of 18 have a parent undergoing psychiatric treatment in Norway. The situation in which these children find themselves is so difficult that their parents’ doctors can no longer bear to deal with it.
  (Dagsavisen)
• One in four male directors of Norwegian public limited companies got the job through friends and acquaintances. Only one in 20 women directors were recruited through the same channels. 30 per cent of the male directors of large public companies have a wife who is not in paid employment. No women directors have a house-husband.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• One in four of the operations carried out abroad in 2001 and funded by the Storting’s additional NOK 1 billion allocation was either a breast reduction or linked to varicose veins. The cost was 60 per cent higher than the equivalent operation in Norway.
  (Aftenposten)
• The Government and the oil industry risk provoking international environmental protests when the Government permits exploratory drilling for oil at Røst in Lofoten. Yesterday, the Petroleum and Energy Ministry once again aired the possibility that oil companies would be allowed to carry out some exploratory drilling in the area.
  (Dagbladet)
• Trade and Industry Minister Ansgar Gabrielsen (Con) has rejected all calls to instruct Statoil to choose Norwegian suppliers. "It would be a total parody," he said.
  (Nationen)
• The industrial sector thought it had negotiated a moderate pay settlement, but last year gave Norwegian employees their biggest pay rise for 27 years. Real incomes rose by five per cent. The knock-on effect from last year and high electricity prices are endangering plans to achieve a moderate pay settlement this spring.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Gerd-Liv Valla, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), has called for Central Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem to admit he has made a mistake. She is demanding lower interest rates to stem the tide of industrial companies heading for bankruptcy.
  (Verdens Gang)
• Despite criticism of his management style and choice of repertoire, Bjørn Simensen will continue as head of the Norwegian National Opera until 2008.
  (Aftenposten)

2. Today’s comment from Dagbladet

It does not look good when Trade and Industry Minister Ansgar Gabrielsen, with his back to the wall, is forced to defend himself against angry engineering workers by saying that he has no tools in his ministerial toolkit that can repair what has been broken. When jobs are on the line, there is not much point in having politicians who sit in their fine offices without tools. But Mr Gabrielsen is right in some of his arguments: to whit, that his ability to tell Statoil what to do disappeared when the company was partly privatized and that Labour’s Olav Akselsen is pandering to popular feeling when he attempts to conceal that fact. On the other hand, it is not true to say that Norwegian trade and industry ministers must always remain passive. There are very strong indications that his counterparts around the world, who are subject to just the same rules as Mr Gabrielsen, are neither passive nor incapable of action when it comes to protecting jobs in their own countries.