Stoltenberg silent on EU compromise (Dagsavisen/Sunday)

Prime Minister Jen Stoltenberg is keeping his cards close to his chest when it come to the possibility of a post-election coalition government. Centre Party chairman Odd Roger Enoksen said in yesterday’s editions of Dagsavisen and Nationen that the biggest impediment to the Centre Party’s participation in a coalition would be swept away if the Labour Party agreed to bury the EU membership issue. This could be the invitation Mr Stoltenberg was waiting for from the political centre. But even if the signals from Mr Enoksen and the Centre Party are the most positive Mr Stoltenberg has received so far, he was yesterday unwilling to say whether the Labour Party would give up its freedom of action over EU membership in order to form a united front with the Centre Party against the right.

Energy revolution (Dagbladet)

The Government is planning to spend around NOK 10 billion over the next eight years to research and develop new sources of clean energy. The money will be spent on developing hydrogen as a source of electrical power and as a fuel. Also included in the scheme is work to develop emission-free gas-fired power stations. Dagbladet understands that these are the main points in the soon-to-be-published report from the government appointed committee made up of representatives from the Labour Party and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). Among the companies which have contributed to the report are Norsk Hydro, Aker Maritime and Kværner.

NOK 650 billion giveaway (Verdens Gang/Sunday)

The Conservatives are planning to give employees a NOK 650 billion giveaway from the Government Petroleum Fund, but you will have to save the money until you retire. If the Conservatives’ proposal is adopted, Norwegian employees would on average receive NOK 286,000 each. The money is part of a total restructuring of the country’s state pension scheme. Per Christian Foss, deputy leader of the Conservatives’ parliamentary group, wants to abolish the system in which supplementary pensions are paid out through the state pension scheme.

Refugees return to Norway after pocketing repatriation cash (Aftenposten)

Refugees who have received a total of NOK 17.8 million in financial assistance to help them return to their homelands have come back to Norway. The returnees are mainly Kosovo Albanian and Bosnian refugees. The repatriation grants are supposed to be paid back if refugees return to Norway, but this hardly ever happens. The Storting’s Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs Committee has called for an explanation from Local Authority and Regional Development Minister Sylvia Brustad, whose ministry is responsible for the scheme. According to the Directorate of Immigration (UDI), the main reason for the authorities not demanding the repayment of repatriation grants is that the refugees simply do not have the money.

No political asylum for Palestinians (Dagsavisen/Sunday)

Norway’s role as an intermediary in the Middle East means that Palestinian refugees are not being granted political asylum in Norway, claims the Palestinians’ Association. The Labour Party’s Oslo branch is calling for an investigation into the claim. "If Palestinians are refused asylum because of Norway’s relations with Israel, it would be alarming indeed," says Oslo Labour leader Bjørgulv Frøyn, who met representatives of Norway’s Palestinian community on Wednesday. At the meeting Mr Frøyn was told that of the approximately 2,500 Palestinians currently living in Norway, only three or four have been granted political asylum.

Critics of Orderud murder trial verdicts told to keep quiet (Dagbladet)

Those lawyers who have criticized the verdicts in the trial of the four people accused in connection with the triple murder at Orderud farm should have waited until the appeal court had delivered its final and enforceable judgment, says prominent defence attorney Harald Stabell. Mr Stabell believes that criminal lawyers and legal experts have gone too far in commenting on whether the verdicts in the Orderud case were correct or not. "It is a dangerous development and could jeopardize the rule of law," said Mr Stabell.

Oslo families grab a bigger slice of the cake (Aftenposten/Sunday)

During the 1990s families with young children in Oslo saw their incomes grow more than twice as fast as their counterparts in Finnmark. In general people throughout the Oslo Fjord area are doing well, but the disposable income of families with young children rose by almost a quarter during the period. Oslo families’ income levels were also the highest. The Central Bureau of Statistics (SSB) has added up the incomes of all the families in the country, and the conclusion is clear. Families with small children increased their disposable income during the 1990s, but the increase was not evenly spread throughout the country.

Worth Noting

• Husband and wife, Per Kristian and Veronica Orderud, and Veronica Orderud’s half-sister, Kristin Kirkemo Haukeland, were each sentenced to 21 years in prison for complicity in the murder of Per Kristian Orderud’s father, mother and sister. All three lodged an immediate appeal. Lars Grønnerud was sentenced to two and a half years imprisonment for negligently aiding and abetting in the murders. (All newspapers/Saturday)
• Telenor’s new chairman, Tom Vidar Rygh, has refused to say whether he plans to sack company chief executive Tormod Hermansen. (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)
• Telenor’s nomination committee wanted Bjørn Rune Gjelsten as the company’s new chairman, but demanded that Mr Gjelsten sever all financial ties to Kjell Inge Røkke. Mr Gjelsten had difficulty accepting such a condition. (Verdens Gang/Saturday)
• Three years’ study leave with full pay for central government employees. This is one of several benefits the Government must accept to prevent the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) throwing a spanner in the works and blocking the reorganization of the public service sector. (Aftenposten/Sunday)
• Storebrand’s shareholders should stay calm and not let themselves be dictated to by Sampo’s deadlines, points out veteran Conservative politician and former prime minister Kåre Willoch. He describes Storebrand’s management as clearly disqualified from advising on the issue by reason of self-interest. (Aftenposten/Sunday)
• This Wednesday’s election of representatives to Orkla’s board of directors will probably be postponed because disagreement over the future of chairman Finn A. Hvistendahl is too intense. Mr Hvistendahl is seeking re-election, but several of the company’s major stakeholders would prefer to see him given the boot. (Aftenposten)
• The police view the handling of the paparazzi and the tabloid press as its main challenge in connection with the royal wedding in August. (Verdens Gang)
• According to a recent survey, there has been little change in the pattern of employment between men and women in the Norwegian labour market over the past five years. The LO’s social policy unit claims it will take 50 years before senior executive positions are equally distributed between men and women. (Klassekampen)
• Yesterday saw the start of what has been described as the "forest sale of the century" here in Norway. Norske Skog is selling 1.5 million hectares (370,000 acres) of woodland, of which 560,000 hectares (140,000 acres) is commercial timber forest. (Nationen/Saturday)

Today’s comment from Vårt Land

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and his government are being pulled between the need for a more flexible public service sector and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions’ (LO) powerful wish to have at least one hand on the tiller when it comes to the modernization process. Responsibility for the reform programme lies with Government Administration Minister Jørgen Kosmo. According to Aftenposten, he is already thought to have given in to the LO’s civil service union on several important issues. The LO has made huge demands in return for its contribution to a smooth transition process. Under negotiation now is a demand to give those civil servants affected by the modernization programme three years’ paid study leave. The Government will apparently also offer substantial severance packages. There are several reasons for the upsurge in popularity for the right wing in this country. One of them could be that the voters are sceptical of the tight links between the Labour Party and the LO. The LO’s influence on the Government is so great that the Labour Party is having major difficulties implementing its public service reforms. At the start of the election campaign it would therefore be extremely bad for the Labour Party if the LO scored too many points in its negotiations with the Government. Mr Stoltenberg can be quite certain that his opponents will know how to make political capital out of any decisions which indicate that the LO has gained even more power over the Labour Party.