INTENSITY OF POLITICAL DEBATE RISING (Aftenposten-Saturday)

Riding high on a wave of popularity, Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen took the town of Tromsø by storm on Friday. In the county where forty-one per cent of the voters are now saying they will vote for the Progress Party when the time comes, Mr. Hagen took the opportunity to fire away at Labour for breaking its promises. Jens Stoltenberg, struggling with the burden of the worst popularity ratings ever registered for an incumbent prime minister, struck back against his prime opponent, Mr. Hagen, at the national conference of Labour women. Mr. Stoltenberg repeatedly pointed out how women had everything to lose from the Progress Party’s political programme. "More inequity, more unfairness and worse conditions are what would be in store for many, especially women," he said.

STOLTENBERG CAUTIONS POTENTIAL CONSERVATIVE VOTERS (Dagsavisen-Saturday)

Last Monday, Conservative Party chairman Jan Petersen suggested the idea of forming a coalition with the Progress Party after the general election next year. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg says this tentative approach to the Progress Party should set potential Conservative voters thinking."I’m glad [Mr. Petersen] made this point openly. I urge everyone to think twice before casting a vote that could get the Progress Party into a coalition Government," said Mr. Stoltenberg in his address to the national Labour women’s conference Friday afternoon. A vote for the Conservatives could be all it takes to get the Progress Party into a coalition Government, he pointed out.

CONSERVATIVES ISSUE CONDITIONS FOR COLLABORATION (Dagsavisen)

The Conservative Party is only party saying it would consider forming a Government coalition with Progress if the current party ratings continue until the elections, but Conservative Party chairman Jan Petersen says this will not be possible unless the Progress Party alters its views on immigrants and immigration. Mr. Petersen will not get involved without a number of concessions from Mr. Hagen, however.

STATOIL AND HYDRO TO MEET WITH EU COMMISSION PRESIDENT (Aftenposten-Sunday)

Statoil and Norsk Hydro will take part in a meeting with EU Commission president Romano Prodi tomorrow in which high oil prices are the main topic. EU leaders will discuss what may be done at the European level to bring oil prices down. The G7 countries will ask the oil-producing countries to increase their output. President Clinton will release 30 million barrels from US oil reserves.

GOVERNMENT WITHHOLDS IMPACT STATEMENTS (Aftenposten-Sunday)

The Government has been studying the impact of the EU’s eastward expansion on Norway, but so far it has kept its findings to itself. The chairman of the Storting’s Foreign Affairs committee is now calling on the Government to open up. Enlargement to the east is one of the most important issues in Europe at present. The EU could change character radically in the space of a few years, and there are few sectors of Norwegian society which will not be affected. The various ministries have studied the effects to be anticipated in their areas and sent their reports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. These studies are based on the premise that enlargement of the EU means an enlargement of the EEA, which will have a major impact on Norwegian interests.

NORWEGIAN CONSUMERS WANT SWEDISH PRICES (Nationen)

In a survey conducted by Din Mening for the Norwegian Farmers’ Union, nine out of ten respondents said would like to see value-added tax on food brought down to the Swedish level, but only half believe a fifty per cent reduction would be passed on to the consumers. "This is certainly what I would call popular demand," says Farmer’s Union secretary general Harald Milli. When 90 per cent of the people want VAT on food reduced by half, I expect the politicians to sit up and take notice."

RESEARCH DIRECTOR CALLS FOR SCRAPPING OF EARLY RETIREMENT PLAN (Dagens Næringsliv)

The government-funded early retirement plan (AFP) should be discontinued. Aging workers who are unable to work can retire with disability benefits, in the view of research director Ådne Cappelen of Statistics Norway, who says a higher retirement age is necessary to keep the social security system functioning.

WORTH NOTING

• Director General of Public Prosecutions Tor-Aksel Busch wants average homicide sentences increased to 10 years. He feels this would be a suitable signal that society takes an increasingly serious view of "capital crime". He also emphasizes the preventive effect stiffer sentences will have. (Aftenposten-Saturday)
• Unless the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) grants Oslo Gardermoen Airport’s petition for less stringent pollution restrictions, Gardermoen may have to close for long periods during the winter. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Kjell Magne Bondevik denies any division in the political centre. The centrist alliance will submit an alternative budget and will act in concert in this autumn’s budget proceedings. "We will take an active and constructive part, but Labour will not be able to dictate its terms to us on issues upon which we disagree," says Mr. Bondevik. (Nationen-Saturday)
• Anders Kristoffersen, head of the computer, telephone and electrical workers’ union, the fifth largest in the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), calls on Ellen Stensrud to withdraw her candidacy for LO president. He feels everyone in the LO should back Gerd-Liv Valla, who is expected to win the election regardless. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Minister of Justice Hanne Harlem is preparing new guidelines for the treatment of 15 and 16-year-old criminals. "We are discussing simple changes like having police officers visiting the families of these youths in their homes," says Ms. Harlem. Other measures include swift reactions to criminal acts, interdisciplinary support for young criminals, and the setting of clear limits. (Aftenposten)
• Spokesmen for the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) say Norway should request free trade agreements with Japan and Korea when Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg pays official visits to these two countries this autumn. Japan is Norway’s foremost export market for fish. (Dagens Næringsliv)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagens Næringsliv

"Getting interest rates under control is a prime objective," said Labour Party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland in his address to the Labour women’s national convention on Saturday. According to Dagsavisen, the fight against high lending rates is Mr. Jagland’s top priority. Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen was not as unequivocal in his statement to Dagens Næringsliv on Friday. Asked whether it was his ambition to halt climbing interest rates or bring interest rates down, he replied, "I believe our prime objective is to avoid an increase in pressure on the economy, which is what makes interest rates rise. Norges Bank, which administers monetary policy, will consider the appropriate steps to be taken, and that is something I do not wish to discuss". Where Mr. Jagland speaks with unusual clarity in the Finance Minister’s area of responsibility, Mr. Schjøtt-Pedersen himself is rather nebulous and evasive, perhaps lest he be perceived as issuing instructions to Norges Bank governor Svein Gjedrem. It is reasonable to assume, however, that Mr. Jagland’s word carries some weight in the Ministry of Finance. Even though the formal decisions and the practical implementation of monetary policy are the responsibility of the central bank, Mr. Gjedrem’s decisions are largely the result of decisions taken by the Storting and the Ministry of Finance, so no one can evade their responsibility. If lower interest rates are the objective, then finance policy must be shaped accordingly.

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