DISAGREEMENT CONTINUES IN UNITED LABOUR PARTY (Aftenposten)

The question of state administration of the hospitals was about the only issue on which the Labour Party Conference was not practically unanimous. But the disagreements continue. Now the battle is about how to interpret the wording of the resolutions adopted on Statoil privatization and EU membership. Opponents of EU membership believe the EU resolution prevents a Norwegian application to join the EU until 2005. However, party chairman and Foreign Minister Thorbjørn Jagland is not ruling out a new EU referendum during the next Storting.

TOTAL VICTORY FOR JAGLAND (Dagsavisen)

Centre Party chairman Odd Roger Enoksen says that Thorbjørn Jagland has won by a knock-out over his opponents in the Labour Party. "This is no compromise. The resolution is a total victory for Mr Jagland. I am surprised that Labour Party opponents of EU membership have accepted it," he says. Mr Enoksen does not think that the anti-membership lobby has succeeded in pushing the EU off the agenda for the next elections. "At best it is just a postponement. But opponents of EU membership have now accepted the basic premise that Norway will sooner or later become a member of the EU," says Mr Enoksen.

CLINGING TO POWER (Verdens Gang/Saturday)

Jens Stoltenberg and the Government will not be leaving office even if the Labour Party does not achieve a majority with the centre alliance parties for its budget proposal. Instead of putting its existence on the line and demanding a vote of confidence in its own budget, the Stoltenberg government is planning stay put. This will force the opposition to take the initiative and either propose a vote of no confidence or put together a majority for an alternative budget.

BONDEVIK SPREADS FEAR (Dagbladet/Saturday)

Late last night Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg took the podium at the Labour Party Conference and made a strong appeal to the centre alliance for a budget compromise. The Labour Party has no idea whether Kjell Magne Bondevik wants a budget compromise or if his main aim is a return to office. The increasingly difficult budget negotiations yesterday sent a shiver down the party conference’s collective spine.

ULTIMATUM FROM BONDEVIK (Verdens Gang)

Behind the Storting’s closed doors Kjell Magne Bondevik and the centre alliance last night refused to budge on their demands to the Labour Party over the budget. In effect Mr Bondevik gave Hill-Marta Solberg, Labour’s parliamentary leader, an ultimatum. If she and the Labour Party at today’s meeting do not give way on all points, the negotiations will be broken off once more.

BLAMES AN UNFORTUNATE CORPORATE CULTURE AT NORWEGIAN NATIONAL RAIL ADMINISTRATION (Aftenposten/Sunday)

According to chief executive Steinar Killi, the Norwegian National Rail Administration’s corporate culture has been a major obstacle in the way of efforts to improve safety. If he had pushed harder he would have lost people with valuable technical competence, he said. Ten months after the Åsta accident Mr Killi still has not hired safety managers for the country’s various rail regions.

BISHOPS IRRELEVANT FOR MOST PEOPLE (Aftenposten)

According to recent figures from the market research company Opinion, six out of ten Norwegians place little or no importance on the bishops’ views on important moral issues. The smallest proportion of faithful followers is to be found in the bible belt in the south and west of the country. A few more loyal supporters are located in the southeast, central and north Norway. This is the message the population is giving the 11 bishops who are attending the General Synod in Trondheim today.

GET THE BLAME (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)

Storebrand’s board of directors is standing firm and plans to continue despite yesterday’s fierce criticism by the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission. The board members have exonerated themselves and place all blame on the former chairman Jon R. Gundersen and former chief executive Åge Korsvold. For a time Storebrand’s board was considering bringing charges against Mr Korsvold with the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime.

WORTH NOTING

1. The head offices of the Norwegian National Rail Administration and NSB knew nine years ago that the signalling system on the Røros rail line was defective. They have received repeated warnings about the faults. (Verdens Gang)
2. Kjell Magne Bondevik plans to publish a purely centrist budget if the crucial meeting with the Labour Party today does not produce the desired results. The crisis budget could be ready in just a few hours. (Verdens Gang)
3. The price of gas has almost doubled in just eighteen months. A cold winter in Europe will give Norway additional income amounting to several billion kroner. But customers will not switch to other energy sources, says Statoil vice president Rune Bjørnson. "Oil is expensive, too," he says. (Aftenposten)
4. Former Storebrand chief executive Åge Korsvold is not out of the woods yet. Even though Storebrand has chosen not to bring charges, both the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission and the National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime are empowered to initiate further investigations. (Dagens Næringsliv)

TODAY’S COMMENT FROM AFTENPOSTEN

The Labour Party Conference has given the Government the go-ahead it asked for to proceed with the state take-over of the hospitals and the partial privatization of Statoil. At the same time the conference gave the Government and the party leadership some leeway with regard to EU membership. The conference’s clarification on these issues means that the Government is no longer paralysed. It can start work on its planned modernization effort. As the situation now stands it seems unlikely that Norwegian membership of the EU will become an issue before the general elections in 2005. The important point here is that the Labour Party Conference voted unanimously in favour of "Norway having freedom of movement with regard to possible changes in the form of association".

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