Centre under pressure (Aftenposten)

For those in the Labour Party who had hoped and believed that last week’s sharp upturn in the polls signalled the beginning of an easy ride to victory, the poll carried out by Opinion on behalf of Aftenposten this week will come as a cold shower. Correspondingly it will be a relief for those in the Conservative Party who feared the previous poll could be the start of a political collapse. For the first time in ages all three centre alliance parties have climbed over the minimum number of votes needed to win a seat in the Storting, which means the first and most important requirement for a new centre alliance government has been achieved. Opinion’s poll gives the Labour Party 27.5 per cent of the vote, up 1.6 percentage points, while the Conservatives are on 24.5 per cent, a drop of 1.8 points. The Christian Democrats fall 2.3 percentage points to 11.6 per cent, the Centre Party has 4.4 per cent of the vote, while the Liberals have 4.1 per cent of the electorate behind them.

Centre alliance parties divided over gay rights (Dagsavisen)

Full scale war is about to break out between the centre alliance parties over the issue of gay rights. The Centre Party’s deputy leader, Åslaug Haga has said she understands why gays feel offended by the Christian Democrats. The Liberals’ Odd Einar Dørum feels the same. The row started after a recent head-to-head television debate between Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Christian Democrat leader Kjell Magne Bondevik, during which Mr Stoltenberg accused Mr Bondevik of being prejudiced against gays.

Labour’s lack of political clarity blamed for drop in support (NTB/Nationen)

"It is no coincidence that your heart is on the left and your appendix on the right. And it is no good calling for a political strike to win back welfare benefits when you have voted for the Progress Party," said former president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), Yngve Hågensen. Mr Hågensen believes the Labour Party frightened voters up onto the fence when they launched a number of initiatives in June last year on which the party itself was deeply divided. The Labour Party’s profile has been indistinct for a long time because it has taken a long time to clarify its position on central government ownership of the hospitals, the future of the county authorities and the modernization of the public service sector," said Mr Hågensen in Tromsø yesterday.

Labour tried to cut sickness benefit (Dagens Næringsliv)

Last winter the Labour government attempted to win union backing for a cut in sickness benefits. In return for this support, Labour and Government Administration Minister Jørgen Kosmo promised to raise the level of union dues which members can deduct from their taxes. The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) said no to the trade-off, according to several centrally placed trade union officials.

Little confidence in public transport (Vårt Land)

We avoid public transport and insurance companies like the plague, and only a third of us are satisfied with the public health service, according to a major survey carried out by MMI on behalf of the Consumer Council. At the top of the list is the travel industry. Exactly half of us have confidence in this sector.

Government asked to bail out Braathens (Aftenposten)

The Norwegian Competition Authority has asked the Government to abolish the airport tax, which has hit Braathens particularly hard. In practice the Competition Authority is asking the Government to help block SAS’s proposed take-over of Braathens. The Competition Authority will meet representatives from the Ministry of Transport next week to discuss the affair. Only the Conservatives and the Progress Party are in favour of abolishing the air passenger tax. The other parties are, at best, willing to look into the matter. The Ministry will not comment on the proposal at this time, but has said that it is "aware that the modified air passenger tax could have a different impact on SAS than on Braathens".

Storebrand can print new shares (Aftenposten)

If Sampo’s application to take over Storebrand is rejected today, Storebrand may respond by printing several million new shares and selling them to Sampo – thereby ensuring that the Finnish company ends up owning more than the magic 90 per cent figure. In that case the Norwegian authorities will probably no longer be able to refuse to approve Sampo’s bid.

Worth Noting

• Jens Stoltenberg must have known he was being provocative when he branded the Christian Democrats’ stance on legislation enabling gays to register their partnerships as being based on prejudice. So says Vigdis Songe-Mølle, head of the University of Bergen’s Institute of Philosophy. (Dagsavisen)
• Rune Kristiansen was a Labour MP in the last Storting, but is not standing for re-election. He says that the Labour Part must win more than 34 per cent of the vote if it is to be satisfied with the result. (Aftenposten)
• The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) is calling on voters not to forget the EU completely in the run-up to the election. Major changes in the EU pose a challenge for Norway, according to vice president Jon Vea. (Aftenposten)
• SAS’s exploitation of its monopoly position has been exposed. On routes where they face competition, prices are dumped. On routes where they are the only carrier, there are almost no discounts. Norwegian airline passengers are among those worst hit, according to a Danish survey. (Verdens Gang)
• Labour and Government Administration Minister Jørgen Kosmo is still working feverishly to get employer and employee organizations to reach an agreement on sickness benefits. The latest meeting was held last Tuesday. Mr Kosmo is refusing to say what was discussed. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Agriculture Minister Bjarne Håkon Hanssen wants Norway to have the best animal welfare in the world. The result will be more expensive food in the shops. (Nationen)

Today’s comment from Dagens Næringsliv

Artists, academics, lobbyists, Kjell Magne Bondevik, and even on occasion Jens Stoltenberg, want the election campaign to focus more on values instead of money. In other words, what we should be living for, not simply what we are living off. This is not necessarily a good idea. The election campaign is about values. The parties represent different ideologies, and these are pitted against each other in a democratic process. But when politicians start a ‘debate on values’ which is disconnected from life’s trivialities, it can easily run off course and become meaningless. Values are the basis upon which the lines for acceptable behaviour are drawn up through legislation, the level of public consumption is determined, as well as decisions regarding who gets what, and who pays. We choose politicians to pass laws and allocate funds. When those same politicians attempt to do something about the very spirit of the age, things immediately start getting more difficult. An election campaign is a debate about values. For the person casting their vote it may nevertheless be more sensible to know what the parties think about state pensions, the allocation of funds for road construction, and the threshold for the high-income surtax, than that Jens Stoltenberg is fond of culture and that Kjell Magne Bondevik believes in the family.