Clear majority for Conservatives and Christian Democrats (Dagsavisen, Saturday edition)

For the first time, an opinion poll shows that the Conservatives and the Christian Democrats will have a clear majority in the Storting. With 86 of the 165 seats, the two parties will be able to form a majority government after the election. Together the Conservatives and Christian Democrats have 49 per cent voter support, according to AC Nielsen’s June opinion poll. In the view of election expert Bernt Aardal, who has calculated the distribution of mandates, these figures create an entirely new situation in Norwegian politics.

Pain threshold: 30 per cent (Dagbladet, Saturday edition)

They’re not saying it out loud, but inside the Labour Party there is talk of a pain threshold: Labour must climb to at least 30 per cent support if Jens Stoltenberg is to maintain his position as prime minister. "If we get less than 30 per cent, we will lose our basis for governing. This is also a question of democracy. We are just sitting and waiting to be overthrown, which is humiliating. We also have the local elections to think about," said a Dagbladet source.

We don’t trust you, Jens (Dagbladet, Sunday edition)

Never has there been less confidence in a Norwegian government than the Stoltenberg Government is experiencing now. A survey conducted by Dagbladet reveals that even the insurance branch enjoys greater confidence among the general public than the Government. Only 36 per cent of those questioned said that they had very great or great confidence in the Government. This is the poorest showing for any government in the nearly 15 years that Dagbladet has conducted this survey.

Petersen’s popularity is growing (Nationen)

According to a survey conducted by Sentio and Norstat, Kjell Magne Bondevik is still the most popular candidate for prime minister among the general public. But Jan Petersen (Conservative) has taken over second place from Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. Mr. Petersen’s response to this was, "I have said that who will be appointed prime minister is one of the questions we will have to negotiate about after the election. I am the Conservative candidate, and since the Christian Democrats are determined to pursue the centrist alternative, this is something we cannot discuss until the election results are in place."

Norway to be in charge of psychological warfare (Aftenposten)

On 1 October Norwegian officers will assume responsibility for NATO’s psychological operations in Kosovo. Among the activities of this renowned force are influencing attitudes, feelings and behaviour among the general public and monitoring groups that might pose a threat. Key players from the Norwegian government administration and the Norwegian Defence Forces will also participate in courses to learn about psychological warfare.

Wanted to take over Storebrand (Verdens Gang, Sunday edition)

Minister of Finance Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen wanted to use government funds to block the Finnish acquisition of the Storebrand insurance company. The plan, which was approved by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg, was to let the Government Bank Investment Fund buy up at least 10 per cent of Storebrand’s shares in order to prevent Norway’s largest insurance company from falling into Finnish hands. But the Conservative Party rejected the plan, and it was dropped.

Denies that anyone was given instructions (Aftenposten)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg refuses to confirm that the Government wanted to instruct the Government Bank Investment Fund to stop Sampo’s acquisition of Storebrand. "It would be wrong of me to speculate on the various alternatives, especially when we haven’t proposed any of them. What is very important for me is to make it clear that we never at any point in time had plans to instruct anyone," said Mr. Stoltenberg on Sunday.

More Norwegians are fleeing from high taxes (Dagens Næringsliv)

An increasing number of young, rich Norwegians are leaving the country to avoid high taxes, according to a report by Norsk Investorforum. From 1993 to 1999, more than 2000 Norwegians with gross assets exceeding NOK 750 000 emigrated. The number of emigrants with incomes exceeding NOK 750 000 increased fourfold during the same period. Heavy tax burdens and poor conditions for the private sector were cited as reasons for leaving the country.

WORTH NOTING

• The Conservatives and Christian Democrats in power after the election: this is the most popular alternative in Nationen’s government opinion poll this month. Only 13.8 per cent want an exclusively Labour government. "This is, quite simply, a sensation," said election expert Anders Todal Jensen. (Nationen)
• Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has asked Kjell Magne Bondevik to clarify whether he intends to form a government with the Conservatives. "It would be an advantage for the voters to know," said Mr. Stoltenberg. (Dagsavisen)
• The promises made by the political parties will cost Norway billions of kroner. But the parties are reluctant to state the exact price, and who is going to foot the bill. (Dagbladet)
• Norway has 4000 dangerous level railroad crossings. They are either to be properly secured, or eliminated altogether. But despite a large number of fatal accidents on the railway network, measures to improve safety have come to a stop this year. The Norwegian National Rail Administration has run out of money. (Dagsavisen)
• The Directorate of Immigration has started to process applications for asylum from Russian nationals at full speed. So far this year, 353 Russian nationals have applied for asylum, and the government wants to get them out of the country as quickly as possible. In the view of Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Sylvia Brustad, too many of them will commit criminal offences. (Aftenposten)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagbladet:

A committee has proposed that it should be possible to test employees for drug use if they have jobs where others could be injured if they made mistakes. According to the proposal, those who refuse could risk being compelled to transfer to other positions. Currently, some testing is being carried out in the offshore sector on the basis of a rather unclear legal authority. But pilots, air traffic controllers, train drivers, bus drivers and health personnel are never tested for drug abuse. The proposal, which would mean amending the Working Environment Act, is now being circulated for comment. It will be up to the Storting to take the final decision on the matter. We take the same view as the employers’ and employees’ organizations, and regard this proposal as a good idea if it is limited to the jobs that have been listed, and if there are strict criteria as to how the tests will be carried out.