Bondevik retains popularity despite centre parties’ slide (Aftenposten)

The number of voters who want a post-election government including the Conservatives is increasingly rapidly, but Kjell Magne Bondevik remains the most popular prime ministerial candidate by a large margin. Numerically, the centre alliance is still the government alternative with the strongest support among the voters, but its popularity is shrinking. Six months ago one quarter of the voters wanted the centre alliance back in office after the election. Now only one in five voters wants them back.

Bondevik accepts two-party coalition (Vårt Land)

Christian Democrat leader Kjell Magne Bondevik has said it would be possible for the party to join a two-party coalition. The Liberals have therefore lost their position as government ‘broker’. "If you want Kjell Magne Bondevik as prime minister you will have to vote Christian Democrat. That is the party’s main message ahead of the election. But the Christian Democrats must acknowledge that Conservative Party chairman Jan Petersen is now an increasingly strong alternative candidate. At the Christian Democrats’ press conference yesterday, Mr Bondevik admitted that Mr Petersen is now a competitor for the prime ministerial job. The Christian Democrat leadership was extremely careful not to comment on other potential coalition alternatives than the centre alliance.

Stock market supremo hits back at Hermansen (Dagens Næringsliv)

Sven Arild Andersen, head of the Oslo Stock Exchange, says he had to force Telenor chief executive Tormod Hermansen to put an end to the merger rumours surrounding the company. He is therefore shocked at Mr Hermansen’s criticism of the Oslo Stock Exchange. Mr Andersen revealed that he practically had to drag a stock market information bulletin out of Mr Hermansen about Telenor’s merger discussions with TeleDanmark, despite the fact that the market was flooded with rumours. Mr Hermansen said he was surprised by Mr Andersen’s comments.

Labour veterans quarrel in public (Verdens Gang)

Trade and Industry Minister Grete Knudsen risks having a vote of no confidence being brought against her by the Conservatives and the Progress Party. And astonishingly it is a telephone conversation between herself and party colleague Kjell Opseth which is at the root of her predicament. Veteran Labour MP Kjell Opseth is fighting his last battle before leaving the Storting. The dispute with Ms Knudsen concerns the handling of a possible share issue for Telenor. The two political heavyweights have such different versions of the conversation between them that it looks as though one of them either cannot remember exactly what was said, or is not telling the truth.

Hermansen under attack from all sides (Dagbladet)

Telenor chief executive Tormod Hermansen is being accused of lacking candour and objectivity, as well as failing to follow established procedure and produce results. The powerful Telenor boss is under attack from all sides. Yesterday the head of the Oslo Stock Exchange joined the fray with a direct attack on Mr Hermansen. Previously this month Mr Hermansen irritated both Trade and Industry Minister Grete Knudsen and Telenor’s own chairman Eivind Reiten. And around the country there are thousands of disgruntled small investors who bought shares in Telenor when the company was floated on the stock exchange and are now in despair over the share’s poor performance.

Fruitful discussions over difficult issues (Aftenposten)

Norway and Russia are in the process of becoming normal neighbours who can discuss difficult issues, commented Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg yesterday after a series of meetings throughout the day in which he discussed Norwegian-Russian cooperation and Norwegian-Russian problems with Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Kasaniov. In the days before Mr Stoltenberg’s visit sections of the Russian press had mounted a noisy campaign opposing Norway’s Svalbard policy. It was a campaign which prompted Norwegian fears that Mr Stoltenberg’s visit would be filled more with confrontation than fruitful dialogue. Those fears proved to be unfounded.

Double Kværner’s share price, demands Røkke (Aftenposten)

Kjell Inge Røkke is demanding that Kjell Almskog doubles Kværner’s share price within the next 18 months. Mr Røkke is demanding to get back every penny he has invested in Kværner – with interest. Mr Røkke claims that Kværner’s chief executive, Kjell Almskog, has promised every shareholder that the company’s share price will be doubled in 12 to 18 months. In a rare interview with the Trade Unionists’ Magazine, Aker RGI’s majority shareholder attacks both Kværner’s management and its trade union leaders.

Norwegian gas to Britain (Dagens Næringsliv)

This autumn the British gas market will be opened up for Norwegian gas sales. The ‘Vesterled’ pipeline could secure a 10 per cent share of the British natural gas market for Statoil and Norsk Hydro. Great Britain is Europe’s largest gas market, and up to now it has been able to meet all domestic demand from its own gas fields. But because gas production is falling while consumption is continuing to grow, the country now needs to import gas. This is good news for Norwegian gas exporters. Norway is one of four countries which exports natural gas to Europe. Norwegian gas accounts for almost 30 per cent of gas consumption in Germany and France.

Worth Noting

• Three out of five financial analysts believe the Norwegian Central Bank will change its position on interest rates today. They believe Svein Gjedrem, Governor of the Central Bank, will announce that he is more likely to raise interest rates than cut them at the next economic crossroads.
• One year and three months after Jens Stoltenberg took power over the gas-fired power station issue, it is still uncertain whether gas-fired power stations will actually be built in Norway. Up to now the planning and evaluation process has cost at least NOK 500 million. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The Norwegian tourist industry is experiencing strong growth. This year turnover could reach NOK 25 billion, with the holiday and leisure market representing just over 51 per cent of the volume, according to Hans-Otto Halvorsen, of Bennet BTI Nordic Norge AS. (Aftenposten)
• Today’s permanent Chief Constables will keep their salary and their title even though they lose their jobs when Norway cuts the number of police districts from 54 to 27. An agreement with the Police Directorate means that they will keep both their title and pay scale even though they are given a post with less responsibility and pressure. (Aftenposten)
• The Ministry of Justice wants Norwegian defence attorneys to stop advising their clients to refuse to make a statement to the police. Justice Minister Hanne Harlem has now decided to seek advice from her counterparts abroad in an attempt to end the practice. (Dagsavisen)
• Forget the weather prophets’ crystal ball, here is the authorized weather forecast for the whole of the summer. For the first time ever, Jens Sunde, head of the Norwegian Meteorological Institute, can announce the forecast for the next three months. And Mr Sunde reveals it will be warm and sunny throughout the country. (Dagbladet)

Today’s comment from Aftenposten

Russia’s first president, Boris Jeltsin, had a political dream – to make Russia a normal country, on a par with all the other normal countries in the world. Russia now has a new president. The word ‘normal’ will undoubtedly have a Russian twist for many years to come, given the country’s size and the peculiarities of its history. But the meetings Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has had in Moscow with President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Mikhail Kasianov appear increasingly like the normal dialogue between two neighbours. Plain speaking, certainly, but no raised voices, no unforgivable pressure by a world power on a small peripheral nation. This kind of relationship is something we can live with, and develop further. The neighbours have moved on a bit since the fences were lowered slightly and some of the barbed wire taken down. Official and state visits will continue to be major political events, but the more often they happen, the closer the contact between the countries at all levels, the more mundane and ordinary they will become. And that is how relations between normal countries should be.