Economist exposes Labour and Conservative campaign promises (Aftenposten)

The Conservative Party is promising to deliver the same level of public welfare as we have today, while lowering taxes at the same time. The Labour Party is promising to maintain the welfare state. Neither party has the financial backing to keep its promises, in the view of Professor Fritz C. Holte, a renowned economist. In Aftenposten’s Web site, Aftenposten.no, he writes that streamlining the public sector will never completely offset the rising cost of the coming generation of the elderly. Our society is becoming increasingly immune to political promises. Mr. Holte believes that the combination of the promises made in this year’s election campaign and the policies that will actually be pursued after the election will give an added boost to the general level of distrust in the political parties.

Petersen calls for a sensible debate on taxes (Dagsavisen)

Conservative Party chairman Jan Petersen urges Jens Stoltenberg and the Labour Party to stop arguing about the billions of kroner in taxes that the two parties disagree on. "I want a more sensible debate," said Mr. Petersen. "Everyone who crosses the border to shop in Sweden knows what I mean," he said to get across his message of reduced taxes. Prime Minister Stoltenberg has apparently not understood this, despite the fact that his summer holiday was spent near the Swedish border.

Conservatives would accept Bondevik as PM (Verdens Gang)

According to Verdens Gang’s sources, even if the Conservative Party ends up as a much larger party than the Christian Democrats after the election, Jan Petersen will be willing to give the office of prime minister to Kjell Magne Bondevik (Chr. Dem.) in a coalition government. Mr. Petersen is perfectly clear when he states that the Conservatives want to form an alliance with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. "We want a coalition government," he said. He emphasized that the ministerial posts in the coalition government will certainly be a matter of negotiation. "But first we have to find out whether there is a sufficient political basis for a coalition government. If we agree on that, we will have no problem agreeing on the ministerial appointments, including the prime minister. We can’t let the distribution of responsibilities get in the way of our cooperation," said Mr. Petersen.

ESA warns of potential court case (Aftenposten)

According to a letter sent to Norway by the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), the Norwegian Government risks being sued for damages by Sampo, the Finnish financial services company, if Norway breaches the EEA Agreement. Earlier this week Minister of Finance Karl Eirik Schøtt-Pedersen made it clear that the Norwegian authorities are primarily taking Norwegian legislation into account in the heated conflict surrounding Sampo’s bid to acquire Storebrand. The ESA watchdogs have responded by reminding the Norwegian Government that the EEA Agreement takes precedence over national legislation. And the Agreement is supposed to be followed up "loyally" by all parties.

Explosive increase in reports of racism (Aftenposten)

The number of racial discrimination charges filed with the police has skyrocketed. Never before have the police investigated as many reported violations of anti-discrimination legislation. Kristin Krohn Devold, chairman of the Storting’s Standing Committee on Justice, believes that the murder of Benjamin Hermansen at Holmlia in Oslo has led to an increased awareness on the part of the general public that is it appropriate to react against racism.

Elderly are starving to death (Dagsavisen)

Many elderly in Norway are undernourished. Those who live in their own homes are at greatest risk, but those in hospitals, too, lose so much weight that they are in danger of starving to death. In the view of Dr. Thomas Bøhmer at Aker Hospital, little or nothing is done in Norway to investigate how serious the situation is for the elderly.

WORTH NOTING

• The Civil Aviation Authority must be the bane of "Renewal Minister" Jørgen Kosmo’s existence: it has six times as many employees as it did two years ago, and is using four times as many external consultants. (Dagsavisen)
• The Government wants to introduce cheaper Internet subscriptions and to do away with time-based call charges. According to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, a private consultancy firm is currently investigating whether the Norwegian authorities can legally require the telecommunications companies to lower their prices. (NTB)
• Yesterday was a good day for Statoil’s shareholders. The article published in Aftenposten about the company’s prospective NOK 100 billion gas contract, and the resulting increase in oil prices, gave Statoil a lift that put the Oslo Stock Exchange in the black. (Aftenposten)
• An international rating system reveals that top Norwegian business executives are financial losers compared to their counterparts in other countries. With an average income of NOK 1.1 million, they have to look to China to find CEOs who earn less than they do. People in comparable positions in Thailand, Taiwan and South Korea all earn more than Norwegians. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Think, the Aurskog-based electric car manufacturer, sustained an NOK 130 million loss last year. But the Ford Motor Company, which has purchased the entire factory, is investing NOK 1 billion to keep it running, and is basing the company’s operations on a five-year business plan. (Aftenposten)
• The sluggishness with which Minister of Education, Research and Church Affairs Trond Giske has processed church-related matters in the past has suddenly been transformed in the run-up to the general election. The Government is pressuring the National Council of the Church of Norway to present its recommendation for the position of bishop in Nord-Hålogaland, so that the appointment can be made before the election. (Vårt Land)
• Most shareholders in unit trusts (mutual funds) have lost money in the past four years. The large, popular funds administered by high-street banks such as DnB, Postbanken and Gjensidige NOR have had miserable results, while the most successful fund, Gambak, has given its shareholders a 71 per cent profit during the same time period. (Dagbladet)
• On 1 September a pilot project will be launched in which chiropractors and manual therapists will be authorized to give people official sick leave. The Norwegian Medical Association is not at all happy about this, according to Bergens Tidende. (NTB)
• Mayors of municipalities throughout Norway are counting on the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities to organize a joint wedding gift to Crown Prince Haakon and Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby. And the Association is doing so: the newlyweds will receive just over NOK 50 per municipality. (Dagsavisen)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagbladet:

Minister of Justice Hanne Harlem feels that the police spend too much time prosecuting petty crime, and thus have too little time to spend combating graver offences. As a result, she has appointed a public commission under the leadership of Assistant Director General of Public Prosecutions Hans-Petter Jahre to evaluate other forms of punishment for lesser criminals. Her goal is to find a system that is cheaper and more effective so that greater resources can be devoted to investigating major crimes. One of the proposals made by the commission is to release the names of criminals to the public. This would be like reinstating the pillory as an alternative to incarceration. We are strongly against this idea, and we are astonished that the Minister of Justice would even consider such a thing. A large number of people have already expressed their opposition to this proposal, including Ms. Harlem’s Labour counterpart Vidar Bjørnstad, who is a member of the Storting’s Standing Committee on Justice, and it is likely that the proposal will go no farther than the drawing board. Nonetheless, there is every reason to explore other alternatives to prison sentences as long as constitutional rights are safeguarded.