The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 102/00

Date: 30 May 2000

STOLTENBERG’S BIGGEST DEFEAT SO FAR (Dagsavisen)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg underestimated the strong feelings within the Labour Party against the privatization of Statoil, and suffered a resounding defeat. There will now be open war within the party over this issue between now and the national convention in November. Party leaders yielded last night to pressure from below to put off a decision on the issue until the national convention. Now the fate of Statoil and the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI) will not be put to the vote in the Storting until this winter.

STOLTENBERG BROUGHT UP SHORT (Dagsavisen)

Former Minister of Industry and Statoil board chairman Finn Lied, along with a number of prominent Labour veterans, succeeded in turning the partial privatization of Statoil aside. Mr. Stoltenberg does not admit to any defeat, however. There is nothing to gain by making the timing of the case a matter of prestige. With views as divided as they are, we will just have to go another round, said Mr. Stoltenberg.

STATOIL CHIEF DISAPPOINTED (Dagens Næringsliv)

Statoil group CEO Olav Fjell is extremely disappointed at yesterday’s decision. His view is that Statoil must be allowed as quickly as possible to join in the restructuring of the petroleum industry, taking part in the process on an equal footing with its competitors. This delay should not be for more than a few months—less than six, I hope, he says.

STOLTENBERG MUST EAT HIS OWN WORDS (Nationen)

The Bondevik Government was exceptionally weak, said Jens Stoltenberg in February while in opposition. But Kjell Magne Bondevik suggests that this statement may now return to haunt the PM. I see little in the way of new policy forthcoming from the Labour Government, and Mr. Stoltenberg is all tied up in internal conflict. The party shows clear signs of a breakdown in communication. As eager as they were to take control, I thought they had planned things better, says Mr. Bondevik.

TRIPLE-HOMICIDE CASE RETURNED TO POLICE (Aftenposten)

Public Prosecutor Jørn Sigurd Maurud has sent the Orderud triple homicide case back to the police for re-investigation. The four counsels for the defence interpret this as criticism of the job done by the police. Police inspector Kristin Barth-Larsen, for her part, views the statement as a recognition of the thorough work done by the police.

PETROLEUM FUND TOOK A DIP (Aftenposten)

According to Aftenposten’s calculations, the Government Petroleum Fund dropped by at least NOK 7 billion in April and May, due mainly to the dramatic plunge in the value of IT stock. After two years, the fund has grown to NOK 264 billion. NOK 133 billion is expected to be added to the fund this year.

CORPORATE REIGN OF FEAR (Dagens Næringsliv)

According to an extensive survey, Norwegian corporate executives use fear as a weapon to maintain control, and they are surrounded by yes-men too afraid to speak their minds for fear of being excluded from the circle of leaders. Half of Norway’s junior executives disagree with their bosses, and half of the senior executives are considered bad leaders. Executives without a solid background in the field are worst, according to the survey.

WORTH NOTING

• Norwegian politicians hit the jackpot when they decided to invest Norway’s oil wealth in the international stock market. So far, this move has earned Norway NOK 28 billion. (Dagbladet)
• NRK chief Einar Førde estimates that the national broadcasting corporation must cut staff by 75 in order to stave off major deficits over the next few years. According to Mr. Førde, the heavy cost of developing digital broadcast capabilities has strained NRK’s finances. Investments in this area will be at least NOK 220 million next year. (Aftenposten)
• The Ministry of Justice proposes to let inmates doing time in Norwegian prisons serve half their sentences at home. In order to qualify, they will have to have shown exceptionally good behaviour while behind bars. (Verdens Gang)
• Since 1995, eleven homicide cases have not been cleared up. The National Bureau of Crime Investigation (Kripos) has initiated a process of assessing why this number is so high. (Verdens Gang)
• Four of the six government representatives recently elected to the Telenor board of directors are women. Norsk Hydro’s Eivind Reiten is the new board chairman. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• After a six-year pause, exploratory drilling for oil and gas will resume in the Barents Sea. The first exploratory well in this challenging environment will be drilled in August. (Dagens Næringsliv)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Aftenposten

Labour’s executive committee had no choice: for the sake of its own party, it had to overrule its own Government. It is little comfort to party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg that so far, their defeat is only on point of timing and procedure, not on substance. The executive committee took this very important decision in a process similar to the process in which Mr. Stoltenberg became his party’s prime minister candidate, which explains why the decision drew comparatively little attention. It also explains something different and much more important, however. While Mr. Stoltenberg was allegedly taking fundamental changes in petroleum policy through a thorough process of party discussions, the party was politically impotent. The turbulence generated by poor ratings and the controversy over Mr. Jagland’s leadership brought all political activity to a halt. Mr. Jagland and Mr. Stoltenberg have some busy months ahead if they expect to win the battle at the national convention in November to take Statoil private and sell the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI). But Mr. Stoltenberg’s defeat will be even more crushing if he does not bring this off.