The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 148/00

Date 7 August 2000

LABOUR OPENING UP FOR PRIVATE CARE SERVICES (Dagsavisen-Saturday)

The Labour Party executive committee’s draft party programme makes room for putting health and care services out on bid. The draft programme, which will be presented on 31 August, will make it clear that health and care are public responsibilities, but formulations regarding who performs the actual services—municipal agencies or private caregivers— will be nonspecific. There is open disagreement among Prime Minister Stoltenberg’s cabinet ministers on this issue.

STOLTENBERG GOVERNMENT MUST MEET CRITICISM FROM ORGANIZED LABOUR (Verdens Gang-Saturday)

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) on Friday called Labour Party leaders to account for the party’s stand on putting care services out to tender. Minister of Social Affairs Guri Ingebrigtsen’s statement that her chief concern is that "Grandma" gets the best services, not who provides them, has rankled many, but she now has the backing of the Prime Minister and the party chairman. "The public administration is responsible for ensuring the best services for all, but this does not necessarily mean that all services should be provided by public agencies," says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland says there may be some disagreement within the party and the LO on these issues, but there’s nothing wrong with that. Conflict brings out the best solutions, he says.

COUNTY CONSOLIDATIONS IN LABOUR’S DRAFT PROGRAMME (Dagsavisen)

In its draft party programme for the next four years, the Labour Party executive committee proposes to replace the counties with 5-7 larger regions, which will be responsible for hospitals, among other things. Evy-Ann Midtun (Lab.) chairman of the Finnmark County Council, says this is a bad idea which will remove elected representatives even further from the people, and has vowed to put up a fight at the national convention this autumn.

MUNICIPALITIES TO BE CONSOLIDATED AS WELL (Aftenposten)

Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Sylvia Brustad believes Norway will have a completely different municipal structure in another ten years. She does not believe in coercion, but intends to provide stimulation that will make municipalities want to increase in size. Changes will be introduced into the system of municipal financing next year to ensure that no municipalities will lose financially by consolidating. Ms. Brustad believes this will bring results.

PM’S CAMPAIGN DOESN’T SELL (Dagbladet)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his Government are having a difficult time selling their top priority, modernisation of the welfare state. But new people will be brought in now and new strategies formulated. Minister of Labour and Government Administration Jørgen Kosmo confirms that the Government is having problems marketing its views. This is also an admission that Mr. Stoltenberg’s charisma and rhetorical talent have not succeeding in restoring peace within the party and winning support for its ideas elsewhere.

KVÆRNER EXPECTED TO BID ON AKER MARITIME TODAY (Aftenposten)

Kjell Inge Røkke is expecting Kværner to bid on Aker Maritime today, having received a roundabout report to that effect this weekend. Kværner held an extraordinary board meeting on Friday. Kværner has a long-standing interest in Aker Maritime. Group CEO Kjell Almskog has previously discussed a price with Mr. Røkke, who holds a 63 per cent stake in Aker Maritime, but this will be the first actual bid offered by Kværner. Kværner, reluctant to give Mr. Røkke a stronger hold than he already has, is not prepared to offer Kværner shares as part of the deal.

SENIORS WANT TO LIVE AT HOME (Vårt Land)

According to a recent survey taken among 1600 senior citizens by the Norwegian Institute of Urban and Regional Research (NIBR), nine out of ten ailing seniors would prefer to live in their own homes, if given the choice. The survey also reveals that people living at home who require care receive less help than those who live in service homes or institutions.

WORTH NOTING

• Minister of Labour and Government Administration Jørgen Kosmo proposes to slash the number of government agencies and directorates. He does not expect any reduction in the number of government employees, however. (Aftenposten-Saturday)
• Labour must take the initiative to force municipalities to consolidate, says former government minister and deputy party chairman Gunnar Berge. He feels the issue should be discussed at the national convention in November. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Neither the national veterinary authorities nor the National Institute of Public Health will implement any special measures against mad cow disease until it has been verified that an ox slaughtered recently in an Østfold abattoir was actually infected with this disease. But other animals from the same herd may neither be sold nor slaughtered until the diagnosis is confirmed. (Aftenposten-Saturday)
• State Secretary Sveinung Valle believes absolute assurance that the meat in Norwegian supermarkets is safe will only come when farmers stop importing livestock. (Dagsavisen)
• Newly-qualified doctors seem to prefer working in hospitals to setting up as general practitioners. The number of general practitioner vacancies outside hospitals has remained at around 200 for the past three years. (Aftenposten)
• The planned expansion of four new mobile telephone networks at a cost of NOK 15-20 billion will lead to huge losses, particularly for contenders Enitel, Tele2 and Tele 1 Europe, according to several industry experts. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Former prime minister Kåre Willoch points a moralizing finger at the Government and the Storting. Attractive defence real estate must not be sold to the highest bidder, but given to the people as public recreational land. (Dagbladet)
• A growing number of couples are divorcing after 25 years of marriage. There has been a traditional focus on the seven-year crisis in marriage counselling, but the state of crisis now seems to be fairly constant. Divorce rates are growing faster among couples with more than 25 years of marriage behind them than among any other group. (Aftenposten-Saturday)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Verdens Gang

Low party ratings have left the prime minister and other Labour Party leaders open to a barrage of criticism. Party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland says suggestions of a "crisis" make him laugh, but they shouldn’t. Labour’s standing is alarmingly weak. With a Labour Government in power that is having no serious difficulties, support for the party ought to be higher. It is also a bad sign that so much criticism has been forthcoming from organized labour lately, and in terms normally reserved for the Labour Party’s opponents. Mr. Stoltenberg’s problem is not so much that he is doing anything wrong; it’s about what he is not doing. Criticism against his rhetoric should be fairly easy for him to deal with, but the outcry against his lack of ideological moorings is something he’d better take seriously. And he must not forget the fact that criticism aimed at him also strikes the rest of the party leadership. The upcoming national convention promises to be an interesting show.

N O R E G