HAGEN PLANNED BRUTAL PURGE OF PROGRESS PARTY (Dagsavisen)

Carl I. Hagen has been planning to purge the Progress Party of its rebel element for many years. He proposed a change in the party’s constitution that would have made it easier for him to impose stern party discipline as long ago as 1996. His proposed constitutional amendment would have ensured that an MP would have to "resign from the Storting if the individual ceased to be a member of the parliamentary party".

PLANNED TO REMOVE 20 TOP PROGRESS PARTY OFFICIALS (Verdens Gang)

According to Progress Party MP Kenneth Svendsen, twenty leading Progress Party politicians were to be removed from office. The planned coup, which Mr Svendsen claims to have been told about at last year’s Christmas party, will be a key issue when the wrangling inside the Progress Party is heard in court today. Among the twenty who were due to be gradually squeezed out were both party chairman Carl I. Hagen and deputy chairman Siv Jensen.

TEACHERS WANT EARLY RETIREMENT (Dagsavisen)

A quarter of senior high school teachers would like to retire as early as possible, according to a recent survey. Poor student motivation and little opportunity for professional development are among the most often quoted reasons for wishing to take early retirement. Anders Folkestad, leader of the Norwegian Teachers’ Union, is calling for the development of a plan to make it easier for senior teachers to stay in the job.

HALF THE NUMBER OF POLICE DISTRICTS IN FUTURE (Aftenposten)

The number of police districts in Norway is to be almost halved, from 54 today to 28 or 29. Aftenposten has learned that these are the main points in the forthcoming report on the police entitled "Police Reform 2000", which the Government is planning to lay before the Storting 12 January. The Ministry of Justice has now completed work on the report.

TELENOR REFUSED TO POSTPONE STOCK MARKET FLOTATION (Dagbladet)

The advice Telenor received from its main underwriter Goldman Sachs was crystal clear – postpone the share issue until after the New Year. But Telenor chief executive Tormod Hermansen refused to take the advice. For Telenor’s management the strategy was clear, float the company as soon as possible. One reason for this haste was the need for an injection of fresh capital.

HEYERDAHL’S ATTEMPTED COUP (Dagens Næringsliv)

Orkla chief executive Jens P. Heyerdahl proposed Finn Jebsen as his successor when he announced his own resignation. After 21 years on the throne, Orkla’s uncrowned king is to abdicate next summer. Mr Jebsen is Mr Heyerdahl’s closest colleague, but there is no guarantee that he will get the job. Stein Erik Hagen and Christen Sveaas do not want Mr Heyerdahl’s spirit to haunt Orkla in the future, and it is possible that former Kreditkassen Bank chief executive Tom Ruud will be given the top job.

RESIGNS VOLUNTARILY – WILL GET AT LEAST NOK 9 MILLION (Aftenposten)

Jens P. Heyerdahl will receive a golden handshake of at least NOK 9 million when he leaves Orkla, even though he claims his departure is purely voluntary. Mr Heyerdahl will receive three years’ salary, but because it is not clear how much his salary actually is, the final sum is uncertain. The previous board of directors raised Mr Heyerdahl’s annual salary from NOK 3 million to NOK 5 million, but Orkla’s new board has already said that it plans to review Mr Heyerdahl’s remuneration package.

INTERNATIONAL REACTION TO NORWEGIAN WOLF-HUNTING (Aftenposten)

Norwegian plans to exterminate the wolf pack in Østerdalen, eastern Norway, have been met with protests from the Swedish authorities. A number of Norwegian and international environmental organizations have also protested. The Inspectorate for Nature Management (SNO) and the Directorate for Nature Management (DN) have already begun preparations for the cull, which could amount to as many as 20 animals.

WORTH NOTING

1. "I am ready to go to court," says Carl I. Hagen. The Progress Party chairman shrugs off the accusations against him and maintains that the national executive committee has the right to be both prosecutor and judge in internal party matters. (Dagsavisen)
2. If vice president Kjell Frøyslid gets his way NSB’s Freight division will be spun off from its parent company next year. The aim of the demerger is to meet the challenge from trends in Europe. (Aftenposten)
3. Oddvar Nilsen (Conservative), leader of the Transport Committee in the Storting, wants an end to NSB’s protected status. "Politicians must start seeing things from the passengers’ side and not simply protect NSB from competition," he says. (Verdens Gang)
4. Several politicians are concerned about Orkla’s future following yesterday’s announcement of chief executive Jens P. Heyerdahl’s resignation. (Dagens Næringsliv)
5. Statoil chief executive Odd Fjell and executive vice president Inge Hansen have already begun their efforts to woo the financial community in preparation for a share issue. Statoil does not wish to share Telenor’s fate when it floats its shares on the stock market. (Dagens Næringsliv)
6. In 1994 Socialist Left Party politician Paul Chaffey accompanied Anne Enger Lahnstein on a "No to the EU" roadshow. Now a senior executive of Statoil, Mr Chaffey does not rule out the possibility of joining the campaign in favour of EU membership the next time the issue comes up for debate. (Nationen)

TODAY’S COMMENT FROM DAGBLADET

Orkla chief executive Jens P. Heyerdahl stage-managed his own resignation and will obviously get the successor of his choice. It is therefore extremely unlikely that the change in leadership will lead to any dramatic shift in Orkla’s strategy and vision. Jens P. Heyerdahl leaves behind a company that has proved it can deliver results to its owners, employees and the community at large. It is not often a Norwegian senior executive can look back on such huge growth when he leaves office. Jens P. Heyerdahl’s regime at Orkla has been characterized by careful planning and a long-term perspective, though he has also demonstrated the ability to seize an unexpected opportunity when it comes along. As a businessman he has understood, in stark contrast to his new, more aggressive owners, that a company of Orkla’s size and importance does not exist only to fill its shareholders’ pockets. It also has a responsibility to its employees and to society in general. We hope that this belief will be continued under his successor. Orkla is too important to the country to be left to the mercy of raw capitalism.

NOREG