ROYAL CHAOS (Dagbladet)

The royal flag waved bravely over the Palace. Party leaders were waiting in the wings – speeches at the ready. Everything looked set for a day of historic proportions. But what should have been a day of joy for the Norwegian people ended in total chaos. Nothing went to plan as it was announced that Crown Prince Haakon was to become engaged to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby. And then came the reverse message, both from the Palace and the Crown Prince himself. The Palace has not in fact confirmed that the couple are to become engaged. The Palace has been heavily criticized for its strategy. "Amateurish, verging on a scandal," comments political science professor Thomas Christian Wyller. He says that the monarchy has been undermined by the way the Palace has handled the Crown Prince’s love affair. "It’s getting ridiculous," he says.

LABOUR WON’T USE OIL MONEY (Nationen)

The Progress Party’s Siv Jensen claims that Norway’s oil wealth will never be used if we follow the logic of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and the political majority. "Labour’s obsessiveness means that they might end up sitting on the money for ever," she says. She agrees with researcher Jan Mønnesland, who criticized current use of the oil revenues in yesterday’s Nationen.

PARTY LEADERS SAY YES TO MERGER (Dagens Næringsliv)

Party leaders do not think that a merger between Storebrand and Den norske Bank sounds so bad. But a large majority (Labour, Christian Democrats, Liberals and Centre Party) are demanding that the Government keeps a 33.4 percent stake, enough to maintain negative control, of the post-merger company. The Conservative Party’s finance spokesman, Per-Kristian Foss, says that he does not object to a demand for 33.4 per cent state ownership "for an initial period".

NO FEARS OF BANK MASSACRE (Dagsavisen)

Employees, party leaders, owners and management – everyone welcomes MeritaNordbanken’s acquisition of Kreditkassen. The alternative to acquisition would have been much worse for Kreditkassen’s employees. If the "Kassa" had been merged with Den norske Bank to create a Norwegian banking giant, the number of jobs in the company would have been cut by almost half.

HIGH PRICE FOR BUDGET COMPROMISE (Dagbladet)

Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen will have to prepare himself for the most expensive "relocation" job in history if he wants a budget deal with the Liberals, Christian Democrats and Centre Party. The centre alliance’s demands add up to a formidable NOK 15 billion. The Liberals’ economics spokesman, Terje Johansen, says that a budget agreement would require changes in the budget on a scale never seen before.

POLICE WANT TO PREVENT MILITARY ACCESS TO CIVILIAN RECORDS (Aftenposten)

The National Police Security Service (POT) and the National Bureau of Crime Investigation (KRIPOS) have warned against giving the Armed Forces Security Staff access to police records and private company databases. They are concerned about new security regulations which, among other things, allow the Armed Forces to access police records containing uncorroborated personal information and information from international police agencies.

WORTH NOTING

1. At yesterday’s Palace-instigated press conference on the relationship between Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, everyone was expecting an indication of when the announcement of an official engagement could be expected. Instead, the media were simply promised that the Crown Prince would eventually get engaged, but nothing was said as to when or to whom. (Vårt Land)
2. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg would not comment on what contacts he had had with the Palace in connection with the Palace’s statement yesterday which came close to confirming a forthcoming engagement. (Dagbladet)
3. The Norwegian people are divided in their views on the Crown Prince’s partner Mette-Marit. Half of the population feels it is hard to see her as a role-model for the coming generation. A massive 84 per cent feel that the royal family should be role-models for everyone. (Verdens Gang)
4. Carl I. Hagen has advised Crown Prince Haakon to hold a referendum on whether Mette-Marit should become queen, if he is in doubt as to how the Norwegian people will respond to her. (Verdens Gang)
5. A marriage between Mette-Marit and Crown Prince Haakon will probably not lead to any change in status for her son, Marius. But with the Government’s approval he may be given the title prince of Norway. (Aftenposten)
6. Hans Dahlborg, chief executive of MeritaNordbanken, plans to reduce the number of employees in Kreditkassen by 400-500 in the coming years. (Dagens Næringsliv)
7. The last of the supplies were loaded and the crew went on board the diving rig "Regalia" in Honningsvåg yesterday. Today the ship sets sail for the Barents Sea and the difficult task of bringing up the bodies of those killed when the Russian submarine "Kursk" sank. (Dagsavisen)
8. Commissioner for Children Trond Waage wants the child welfare service to be relieved of its responsibility for measures designed to help children and young people in their homes. Mr Waage claims that the child welfare service is of poor quality and its staff are without adequate skills. (Aftenposten)
9. The Progress Party has called for tax-free quotas for alcohol and tobacco to be raised to EU levels. Every Norwegian would then be able to bring 90 litres of wine, 10 litres of spirits and 800 cigarettes into the country. (Aftenposten)

TODAY’S COMMENT FROM AFTENPOSTEN AND DAGSAVISEN

If the Palace has developed a well thought out communications strategy, it is not immediately apparent. Yesterday, Palace spokesmen created more confusion than enlightenment, and left the impression that they haven’t quite managed to decide how the issue should be presented to the public. In any event, the situation surrounding the presumed engagement has provoked a debate about the position of the monarchy and its future in Norway. It will probably increase the pressure on the people and the family concerned. It is far from certain that the debate will die away simply because the couple become officially engaged instead of just living together. The large number of critical letters to the editor may decline, but it may also increase. It is Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby’s past that faithful monarchists cannot accept as the norm for a future queen. Yesterday, the Palace announced that the King and Queen had concluded that there was nothing in Mette-Marit’s past that would make her unfit to be queen. The path to the throne is therefore open to the couple. But will it stay open long enough? Or will the monarchy be history before the pair have a chance to start their reign?

N O R E G