KING PLEADS FOR PRIVACY TO BE RESPECTED (Dagsavisen)

Even the royal family needs a private life, warned King Harald at a banquet for representatives of the Storting held at the Palace yesterday evening. "It is especially important for the young people to be left in peace to develop into the individuals they intend to be. We also probably have to accept that each new generation must find its place and do things in its own way, at the same time as they bring with them the best from the previous generation," said King Harald.

UNWORRIED BY CONSTITUTIONAL DEBATE (Aftenposten)

"By following his heart, the Crown Prince has provoked a certain amount of debate about the monarchy as a constitutional form. No one should be worried by such a debate. On the contrary, it is a healthy sign in a democracy that an institution so deeply embedded in the people’s minds should be taken up to debate. Although some people feel a sense of insecurity confronted by something they perceive as a radical change, we should welcome the opportunity it gives to test new opinions and attitudes," said President of the Storting Kirsti Kolle Grøndahl in her reply to the King at yesterday’s banquet.

INVESTS IN WEAPONS (Dagbladet)

The Norwegian Medical Association’s pension fund has bought shares worth an undisclosed sum in weapons manufacturer General Electrics. The investment in the international arms industry was made through the association’s foreign capital management company Barclay Global Investors. Yesterday Medical Association president Hans Petter Aarseth attempted to hide behind a smoke-screen following recent criticism of its investments in the tobacco industry. "The financial investment was not in line with the pension fund’s guidelines," he said.

RECORD LOW FOR FOREIGN AID (Vårt Land)

The enormous growth in oil revenues means that this year’s foreign aid budget will amount to barely 0.8 per cent of Norway’s gross national product (GNP). This is the lowest level since 1981, and is far below the Government’s target. However, the Storting was not informed of the significant fall in foreign aid as a percentage of GNP either in the revised budget published in the spring by the previous government or in the current government’s proposed budget for next year.

ASYLUM-SEEKERS DISAPPEAR (NTB)

Almost 1,500 refugees have disappeared from Norwegian refugee reception centres so far this year. The corresponding figure for last year was 900. Occasionally, the run-aways are apprehended by the police, but the police do not make any special effort to find them, reports NRK, the Norwegian national broadcasting company.

HÅGENSEN DEMANDS SUPPLEMENTARY PENSION (Dagsavisen)

Yngve Hågensen, President of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), has announced plans for a campaign to ensure that all LO members qualify for supplementary pension benefits. LO aims to make the demand in the coming round of national wage negotiations. Almost a million private sector employees have no pension rights other than the basic state pension.

SAYS HE’S NOT OUT TO GET HEYERDAHL (Dagens Næringsliv)

Stein Erik Hagen has spent NOK 1 billion on shares in Orkla and, together with financier Christen Sveaas, is about to take control of the company. Mr Hagen has helped to push for an investigation of the role Orkla chief executive Jens P. Heyerdahl has played in the highly-publicized sale of Skandia’s shareholding. "It isn’t true that I am out to get Jens P. Some people seem to think I am, but they are quite wrong," says Mr Hagen.

SOCIALIST LEFT PARTY MUST WORK FOR A MAJORITY GOVERNMENT (Aftenposten)

Erik Solheim, the Socialist Left Party’s most controversial leader since the party’s creation 25 years ago, is to retire from Norwegian national politics. His parting message is to encourage the party to fight for the creation of a majority government together with Labour and the centre parties. Mr Solheim says the lack of a political culture for cooperation is the biggest obstacle to the creation of a majority government. However, Mr Solheim’s decision not to seek re-election to the Storting does not mean his complete withdrawal from the Norwegian political scene.

WORTH NOTING

1. The Norwegian Petroleum Fund has investments in tobacco and alcohol, and the Church of Norway in brewery-owner Orkla. Even the Norwegian Cancer Society cannot guarantee that it has not invested in funds with interests in tobacco companies. (Dagbladet)
2. In two years’ time Norway will be the only Nordic country to have a surplus of doctors. A new report also shows that Norway already has fewer inhabitants per doctor than the other Nordic countries. (Aftenposten)
3. Kjell Bjørndalen, president of the Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions, has proposed a revolutionary new demand to be included in the next round of wage negotiations. Mr Bjørndalen wants company pension schemes for everyone in the private sector. The reason is dramatic – the trade union organization no longer has any faith in the state pension scheme. (Verdens Gang)
4. A partially privatized Statoil will keep the job of selling Norway’s state-owned oil and gas. In future Petroleum and Energy Minister Olav Akselsen also proposes to sell the country’s oil and gas resources as a joint package. (Aftenposten)
5. The Norwegian national railway company, NSB, is starting the cut-backs that are meant to put an end to the recent chaos on the trains. Forty-two trains are being taken out of service today and a further 40 will disappear from 7 January. (Dagbladet)

TODAY’S COMMENT FROM VÅRT LAND

Carl I. Hagen has made the battle over Siv Jensen’s nomination to a safe parliamentary seat in Oslo into a matter of principle. He wants the party’s national committee to vote that party deputy leaders must be ensured a seat in the Storting. If the party’s national committee does what Mr Hagen wants, it will be possible to exclude the leadership of the Oslo branch if they fail to nominate Ms Jensen. We sympathize with Mr Hagen’s preference in the matter of the party’s Oslo nomination. But if the national committee really does accept this proposal, it will show the Progress Party to be extremely centralized – also in principle. In practice, Mr Hagen has always had a firm grip on the party. It will be exciting to see whether he wins this battle too.

N O R E G