STOLTENBERG AND HAGEN MEET FOR TV DUEL (Aftenposten)

In last night’s television debate, Carl I. Hagen (Progress) and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg (Labour) behaved as if the voters would be going to the polls sometime in the next few days. But the explanation is simple: a great deal is at stake for both, writes Aftenposten’s commentator. After yesterday’s debate, Mr. Stoltenberg’s strategy against Mr. Hagen seems fairly clear. From now until the elections next year, the PM will miss no opportunity to sow doubts regarding Mr. Hagen’s economic calculations.

STOLTENBERG: HAGEN MISLEADING THE PEOPLE (Verdens Gang)

After two televised duels yesterday, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg made some unusually strong statements about Carl I. Hagen’s economic policy. "Carl I. Hagen is misleading the people. His calculations are nothing but sleight of hand," he said to Verdens Gang late last night.

EVEN MATCH BETWEEN HAGEN AND STOLTENBERG (Dagbladet)

Last night’s television debates between Jens Stoltenberg and Carl I. Hagen ended in a draw, in the view of elections analyst Frank Aarebrot, though the result can actually be viewed in the PM’s favour. "With the exception of Kjell Magne Bondevik, Jens Stoltenberg is the only one who can come anywhere near Carl I. Hagen in a debate. The fact that a prime minister whose popularity is on the wane is able to match Mr. Hagen on his way up is impressive," says Mr. Aarebrot.

OIL FLOWING OUT, REVENUES FLOWING IN (Verdens Gang)

Today, on an ordinary Tuesday, over NOK 1.1 billion will flow from North Sea oil into the national treasury. Around NOK 500 million of this comes straight from the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI). The rest comes through state ownership of Statoil and other commercial interests as well as substantial revenues from taxes levied on oil companies operating in the Norwegian sector. OPEC’s decision has made little impact on the market, and oil prices are likely to remain high for the rest of the autumn.

POLITICAL CONSENSUS FOR CHEAPER PETROL (Aftenposten)

All political parties in the Storting now favour lower petrol prices, but none will admit that it is because the Progress Party has forced the issue. Norway currently boasts the highest petrol prices in Europe, but there is now a broad political consensus for bringing prices down – a little bit, at least. The centrist alliance puts the threshold of pain at NOK 10 per litre, while the Socialist Left is willing to go along with price cuts in return for higher spending on education. It is likely that the reduction in petrol taxes will bring prices down to nine or ten kroner per litre.

LOWER TAXES COULD EMPTY PETROLEUM FUND (Dagens Næringsliv)

Using petroleum revenues to offset a petrol tax cut could have a disastrous impact on future pensions, says senior economist Øystein Dørum of DnB Markets. With a budget deficit of one-half per cent, the balance of the Government Petroleum Fund will be NOK 240 billion less in 2020 than it otherwise would have been.

ORKLA CONFLICT COMING TO A HEAD (Aftenposten)

Orkla group CEO Jens P. Heyerdahl, jr. should either disclose the whole truth or step down, in the view of Stein Erik Hagen. "Mr. Heyerdahl’s position and his credibility are now at stake on this issue," says Mr. Hagen. Øystein Eskeland, chairman of the corporate assembly, met with Mr. Heyerdahl last night to discuss the shareholders’ revolt. An intensive effort is under way to find a compromise everyone can accept. A number of different solutions are under consideration, including a proposal to replace part of the board. It is not inconceivable that the issue could be resolved today.

FRAUD SUSPECTED IN TWO OUT OF THREE BANKRUPTCIES (Dagsavisen)

Three thousand companies and private persons go bankrupt every year in Norway. A study of the records of the Bankruptcy Board shows that two out of every three cases involve suspicions of financial crime. Evidence is extremely difficult to secure in bankruptcies, so the authorities are making an effort to boost the effectiveness of criminal investigations connected with bankruptcies.

WORTH NOTING

• These were the debates Jens Stoltenberg had to win – and he did, but just barely. Mr. Stoltenberg found Carl I. Hagen’s Achilles heel and mounted a ferocious attack. (Verdens Gang)
• Prices have climbed 3.5 per cent in the past year. Inflation has not been this high since 1991. Senior economist Jon Rinde of Gjensidige NOR says this reinforces the likelihood of an interest rate hike this month. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• For the first time, farmed fish has now outclassed fish caught by traditional fishing in export value. Farmed salmon and trout accounted for 51 per cent of all seafood exports from Norway in August. (Nationen)
• Dagfinn Høybråten, Director General of the National Insurance Administration, feels employers in Norway do too little to keep people off the welfare rolls. 1.1 million Norwegians are currently receiving benefits from his agency. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Norwegians have good health, steady incomes and successful labour policies, but income disparity between men and women is greater here than in the other Nordic countries. These are among the conclusions drawn by 16 Nordic sociologists in their book, Den nordiske velferdsstaten i en europeisk kontekst (Nor. "The Norwegian Welfare State in a European Context"). (Dagsavisen)
• The HMS "Grafton", a British frigate with a crew of 180, ran aground yesterday in the Oslo Fjord. Fuel tanks are being emptied before tugboats attempt to pull it free, which will probably take place today. (NTB)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Aftenposten

With general elections a year away, Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg met Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen in two televised debates yesterday. Both behaved as though the voters would be going to the polls sometime in the next few days. But the explanation is simple: a great deal is at stake for both. The PM hasn’t a day to lose as he struggles to win back hundreds of thousands of voters who have abandoned Labour in the past few weeks in favour of Mr. Hagen’s ultraconservative Progress Party. Mr. Hagen, for his part, will have to use every means at his disposal to maintain his grip on these faithless voters if he is to be seen as the craftsman behind the political sensation it will be if Progress should emerge from the elections as Norway’s biggest political party. There is one area in which Mr. Stoltenberg scored points against Mr. Hagen in both debates, though. Since Mr. Hagen has been hammering away at the voters with repeated declarations that Norway’s oil revenues can be spent much more liberally on beneficial measures here and now, it could not have been pleasant for him to be reminded that only a short while ago, he was calling for a constitutional measure to set aside the entire Government Petroleum Fund for future pensions. The beauty of this argument is that it is an easily comprehensible example of Mr. Hagen’s tendency to turn like a weathercock with every change in the wind. On the other hand, Mr. Hagen’s accusation that the PM was playing accounting tricks undoubtedly struck a chord with many viewers. Mr. Hagen is not the only one who fails to see why lower VAT and other taxes should lead to inflation.

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