NO HARM IN SPENDING A BIT MORE (Aftenposten)

An analysis done by Statistics Norway (SSB) reveals that spending more oil money would not jeopardize the Norwegian economy. According to the SSB, municipal investment in machines and equipment could be increased by NOK 25 billion over the next five years with no appreciable effect on inflation. Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen finds the report quite encouraging, but Labour and the Christian Democrats are not convinced.

PROGRESS LEAVES LABOUR IN THE DUST IN NORTH (Aftenposten)

Thirty-nine per cent of voters in northern Norway would vote for the Progress Party, according to a poll taken by Opinion for the Labour newspapers in the region, while only 19 per cent say they would vote Labour. Tromsø mayor Herman Kristoffersen (Labour) says he largely agrees with the massive criticism levelled by voters against the ruling Labour Party.

SOLBERG: "UNREAL" (Dagsavisen)

"My first reaction is that this is not real," says Labour deputy chairman Hill-Marta Solberg, who is from northern Norway. She believes the trend will turn after Labour has had more time, however. The Labour Government has been in power for only five months and has not yet had a chance to present its own budget. Her prediction is that the figures will improve as the political agenda increasingly reflects Labour’s priorities, though she concedes that the party has a problem.

STOLTENBERG PROMISES LOWER TAXES FOR ORDINARY CITIZENS (Dagbladet)

The Stoltenberg Government’s draft budget will offer reductions in petrol, food and alcohol taxes. This will be accomplished by reducing the purchasing power of the most affluent, which will not put any pressure on interest rates. It is no accident that this information has been leaked to the public at this point. After a series of setbacks in public opinion, not to mention Carl I. Hagen’s surge in popularity all over the country, the Labour Government has chosen to release a bit of budget news a month before its presentation date.

TØNNE PUTTING PRESSURE ON DOCTORS (Dagsavisen)

Minister of Health Tore Tønne is determined to implement the statutory personal physician scheme, making it effective as of 1 June 2001, but the medical profession will not take part unless more money is on the table. Mr. Tønne hopes that a deal between the Norwegian Medical Association (NMA), the Norwegian Association of Local Authorities (KS) and the central government will be in place by the end of September. "The NMA and the KS are both interested in implementing the scheme, so our chances are good," says Mr. Tønne.

NGOs: "THANKS, BUT NO THANKS" (Vårt Land)

The major aid organizations will continue to raise funds through their own efforts to pay for their development work. They do not wish to function as an extension of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The MFA surveyed non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to determine whether there was any interest in dropping the 20 per cent own-funding requirement for support to projects in developing countries, and received overwhelmingly negative replies. The NGOs were concerned that the people-to-people nature of their organizations and involvement would suffer if their projects were fully-funded by the MFA as NORAD projects.

VALLE FAVOURITE FOR LO PRESIDENCY (Verdens Gang)

Support for Gerd-Liv Valla’s candidacy to the presidency of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) is so widespread that her victory is all but assured. "All this support warms my heart," she says. Even some of her most avid opponents in the private sector now acknowledge that some slip on her own part is the only thing that could stop her now from becoming the first woman to head the LO in its 101-year history.

WORTH NOTING

• "These figures are immensely gratifying, but we must remember that this is only an opinion poll and that the election is still a year away. Things are bound to calm down," says Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen regarding the ratings achieved by his party in northern Norway. (Dagsavisen)
• Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, unwilling to spoil the good humour he was in at the UN Millennium Summit in New York, declined to comment on the startling ratings published in northern Norway. (Dagbladet)
• Russian deepwater divers will enter the Kursk to retrieve the bodies of the crew. Neither Norwegian nor British divers will be allowed aboard the sunken submarine. The Russians will employ Western rescue equipment and diving suits supplied by Stolt Offshore. According to Aftenposten’s sources, Norwegian and British personnel will lead the operation. (Aftenposten)
• His Majesty King Harald is putting in an intense effort to achieve a seat for Norway on the UN Security Council on 10 October. His role as lobbyist is one His Majesty seems to enjoy. "This is a new challenge, but you meet so many interesting people," he says. (Dagbladet)
• Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg discounts the criticism that Norway has failed to promote Knut Vollebæk’s candidacy for UN High Commissioner for Refugees. "Mr. Vollebæk is highly qualified and he has Norway’s full support. I have argued on behalf of Mr. Vollebæk in my meetings with other national leaders," says Mr. Stoltenberg. (Aftenposten)
• Politicians must allocate an additional NOK 8 billion towards highway maintenance to catch up on the backlog and keep the national highways in usable condition. (Nationen)
• Stein Erik Hagen accuses Orkla chief Jens P. Heyerdahl of concealing the truth in his report on Orkla’s involvement in the sale of Skandia’s stake in Orkla. Åge Korsvold, chief executive of Storebrand, Orkla’s fourth largest shareholder, believes the ongoing shareholder uprising may lead to an extraordinary general meeting sometime this autumn. (Aftenposten)
• Orkla CEO Jens P. Heyerdahl plans to buy a controlling share in Danish brewer Carlsberg. Mr. Heyerdahl’s aim is to own all the major Scandinavian breweries. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Continued high interest rates and lower inflation will give substantially higher real interest rates in Norway, according to Statistics Norway’s forecast for the next two years. (Dagsavisen)
• North Sea crude was sold at NOK 348 per barrel yesterday, the highest price since the Gulf War. Every krone increase in the price of oil brings nearly one billion kroner into the treasury. (Aftenposten)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Nationen

Orkla chief executive Jens P. Heyerdahl, jr. is under tremendous pressure. Suspicion that he has been active behind the scenes in determining who holds major stakes in Orkla are becoming increasingly stronger. Christen Sveaas, a recent arrival among the ranks of major shareholders, was refused a seat on the board. Following that, a block of shares up for sale by Skandia, a Swedish company, for which Stein Erik Hagen had put in a bid, was suddenly sold last month. Mr. Heyerdahl’s future as Orkla’s chief executive may be decided this autumn. The owners are no longer willing to be kept out of the corridors of power. He may be pushed out, but as a member of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), he will never be out of a job.

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