The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 56/00

Date: 20 March 2000

YOUNGEST GOVERNMENT ON RECORD (Dagsavisen-Saturday)

The youngest Prime Minister in Norway’s history presented the youngest lineup of Government ministers on Friday. With an average age of 43.3 years, the Stoltenberg Government has broken Francis Hagerup’s record from 1895. Among them, though, the ministers have 26 years of Government experience.

PROBLEMS QUEUED UP (Aftenposten-Saturday)

Gas-fired power plants, the structure of the banking industry, the revived EU membership issue, a multi-billion kroner deficit in the hospital sector—Jens Stoltenberg’s new Government faces a number of acute problems, but Mr. Stoltenberg declined to discuss any of them at his first press conference. One thing he made quite clear, though: It is my Government.

STOLTENBERG ASSURED (Vårt Land-Saturday)

Assurance was the word used most often by Jens Stoltenberg as he presented his Government to the press. He has picked a team that will manage the country with skill and ensure the long life of the Government. He defined their foremost responsibility as taking good care of the best country in the world.

CONFRONTATION BREWING BETWEEN CHURCH AND STATE (Verdens Gang-Saturday)

Right after being appointed Minister of Education, Research and Church Affairs on Friday, Trond Giske declared the importance achieving equal standing for homosexuals within the Church. Christian homosexuals were optimistic, but Gunvor Kongsvik, chairman of the National Council of the Church of Norway, said that efforts by the Government to dictate to the Church would be rejected.

TEACHERS QUESTION ROLE IN CHILD UPBRINGING (Aftenposten)

In a survey conducted by Møreforskning at 280 elementary schools, 60 per cent of elementary school teachers expressed the opinion that parents bear the full responsibility for their children’s upbringing, compared with 39 per cent who feel responsibility is shared between home and school,. Nearly all principals and vice-principals view child upbringing as a shared responsibility. The replies reveal a fundamental disagreement between teachers and school officers on where the responsibility lies, says Ronald Nolet..

NEW LOOK AT GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY (Aftenposten-Sunday)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has announced a thorough review of government activities. When one out of every two kroner earned here in Norway passes through the public sector, it is important to make every krone count. And this applies to everything from county administration to the government ownership of Statoil, he says.

STOLTENBERG WILL GIVE EU MEMBERSHIP ISSUE TIME (Dagsavisen-Sunday)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg feels the issue of Norwegian EU membership should be viewed in a 10-year perspective. He does not believe in any EU membership referendum in Norway before 2005. Despite his invitation to the Centre and the Christian Democrats to collaborate, he recognizes the inconsistency of working towards EU membership while cooperating with the political centre.

LABOUR LOSES GROUND AGAIN (Dagbladet)

There was a slight upswing in support for Labour after Jens Stoltenberg became the party’s prime Minister candidate, but when he actually became Prime Minister, Labour lost 155,000 voters. There is some consolation in the fact that the Conservatives lost even more, however. I don’t think this is that much of a surprise, says party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland, who goes on to say that he has always considered a party’s politics more important than the charisma of its leaders. The fact that the Conservatives lost 165,000 voters last month does not surprise Conservative Party chairman Jan Petersen. I had no doubts that it could happen. Our decision was obviously controversial, but I still feel we did the right thing, he says.

WORTH NOTING

• The administration of NOK 2.7 billion allocated over the NOK 11 billion development assistance budget will be transferred to the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The new Foreign Minister, Thorbjørn Jagland, will take charge of emergency relief and human rights, while Minister of Development Cooperation Anne Kristin Sydnes is left with long-term development cooperation. (Aftenposten)
• Minister of Health Tore Tønne is a strong spokesman for admitting private resources into the health sector. He feels the hospitals should be given more independence. (Aftenposten)
• Minister of Health Tore Tønne has aroused the ire of Jan Davidsen, president of the Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees, who sharply criticizes Mr. Tønne’s statements on privatization. (Dagsavisen)
• Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg will let the much-maligned Values Commission continue. The members of the commission are happy over being allowed to bring their work to completion. (Dagbladet)
• The changing of the Government has shaken up the Norwegian political landscape. The two parties which toppled the Bondevik Government are taking heavy punishment from the voters, while the Christian Democrats have earned nothing but goodwill. The Christian Democrats, up 6.3 points, are now the second biggest party in Norway. (Dagbladet)
• Nearly everyone is satisfied with the new Government, though gas power opponents were numerous outside the Palace as the Stoltenberg Government presented itself on Friday. (Nationen-Saturday)
• No one can force the people to keep the view of EU membership they held in 1994. People are free to change their views, so it is important to maintain an open mind and leave room to manoeuvre, says Norway’s new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Thorbjørn Jagland. (Dagbladet-Saturday)
• The new 7 km tunnel under the Oslo Fjord is scheduled to open on 6 July, replacing the ferry crossing at Drøbak. (Dagbladet)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagsavisen (Saturday)

The official changing of the Government on Friday was carried off with aplomb. Judging by what Jens Stoltenberg and Kjell Magne Bondevik had to say to each other, one easily have got the impression that they were political allies. They gave no impression whatsoever of being each others’ foremost political opponents and the leading figures in the struggle that will determine who will run the country after the next general election. We expect Mr. Stoltenberg to serve as Prime Minister until the election, and most likely beyond, but we do not discount the possibility that Mr. Bondevik could make a comeback. Relations between Labour and the centrist coalition will have a decisive impact on how well the Stoltenberg Government is able to govern. Mr. Stoltenberg will not get far if he has to seek support sometimes from the right and sometimes from the left, as Mr. Bondevik tried to do. With the important exception of EU issues, Mr. Stoltenberg will have to seek support between the Socialist Left and the political centre. In a purely issue-based perspective, this should not be impossible. On most issues, the political gap between Labour and the centre is smaller than that between Labour and the Conservatives. But the Stoltenberg Government would do wise to anticipate political difficulties from the three parties of the centrist coalition. Some of these difficulties could be viewed as acts of vengeance and retribution. But the chief concern of the centrist coalition will be to bend national policy towards the centre. That is as it should be, and a minority Government should expect no less.