Tampa compromise reached (NTB)

Human rights activists and the Australian government have reached a compromise agreement which would enable the refugees to be moved from the Norwegian cargo vessel, Tampa, to an Australian naval vessel. However, there are currently strong winds and high seas off the coast of Christmas Island, which could make the transfer difficult. The crew of the Tampa expressed their relief when it became clear on Sunday night that the refugees could be transferred to another ship.

More secrecy during election campaign (Aftenposten)

Ten out of 17 government ministries are keeping more secrets than four years ago, despite promises of increased openness. Least forthcoming are Foreign Minister Thorbjørn Jagland, Defence Minister Bjørn Tore Godal and Petroleum and Energy Minister Olav Akselsen. Among the questions which you will not be getting answers to this side of the election are what measures the Government is implementing to halt the rise in disability benefit and sick leave payouts, genetic research, tax, regional aid, immigration issues, ferry operations, the change in interest rates on loans from the state-owned banks and environmental measures.

Sickness benefit scheme no longer under threat (Verdens Gang/Sunday)

Both employee and employer organizations have had enough of speculation and secret meetings about the sickness benefit scheme. At the request of the Confederation of Vocational Unions (YS) and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), Labour and Government Administration Minister Jørgen Kosmo invited the parties involved to a crisis meeting yesterday afternoon. "No outline for reducing absenteeism through illness was presented, but we are agreed on a line which we think will lead to an agreement. This means, among other things, that the current sickness benefit scheme will remain intact as long as the Labour Party is in office," said Mr Kosmo.

Explosive increase in web gambling (Dagsavisen)

Last year the Storting voted to ban those under 18 from using slot machines. At the same time Norwegians are gambling on the internet as never before. Last year we gambled away NOK 400 million on web-based gambling sites. The Lottery Commission, the new government lotteries watchdog, is now reviewing ways to limit web-based gambling. The Commission has produced a report, and is recommending emergency measures to put an end to Norway’s gambling addiction.

Voters jump from Conservatives to Socialist Left Party (Aftenposten/Saturday)

Young people and women are flocking to the Socialist Left Party as the election campaign enters its final days. As many as 22 per cent of first-time voters now say they will be voting for the Socialist Left Party. Earlier this summer the Socialist Left Party drew its voters from those parties closest to it on the political spectrum. Now Conservative and Progress Party voters are also being attracted by the Socialist Left Party.

Stoltenberg promises to cut taxes for the lowest paid (Dagsavisen/Saturday)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has promised tax cuts for the country’s 130,000 poorest paid workers next year, but the reduction is unlikely to amount to more than NOK 1,000 per person. "We will also gradually reduce the total tax burden, and do something with the most unreasonable indirect taxes – unless something dramatic gets in the way," said Mr Stoltenberg.

Centre alliance faces quick burial (Verdens Gang)

At the same instant that the centre alliance proves to be a dead duck after the election, the Liberals’ Odd Einar Dørum plans to slide straight into a government coalition with the Conservatives and Christian Democrats. The first steps have therefore been taken to kill off the centre alliance as a government alternative – just one week before the election. Centre Party leader Odd Roger Enoksen declared on Saturday that his party will ensure the survival of the Labour government if the centre alliance does not come to power.

Norwegian child benefit to EEA citizens (Nationen)

Norway will this year hand out NOK 45 million in child benefit to non-Norwegian EEA citizens working in the Norwegian offshore industry. At the same time, Norwegian families receiving social security payments do not qualify for child benefit. In the long term child benefit payments to EEA citizens could amount to several hundred million kroner each year, according to former Social Affairs Minister, Magnhild Meltveit Kleppe.

SAS out to smash Braathens (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)

SAS was willing to spend NOK 1 billion a year to smash its smaller competitor, Braathens. Centrally placed sources within SAS and Braathens claim that SAS had carefully calculated how long it would take before Braathens crash landed – permanently. "A normal part of business life. Every player has to look out for himself, or be picked off," said former SAS chief executive, Jan Reinås.

Worth Noting

• Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen is now planning to forcibly repatriate so-called tax exiles. "We are proposing clearer rules so that shipowners and others with strong links to Norway do not pay their taxes to foreign tax havens. They should not be able to choose their domicile purely for tax purposes," he said. (Aftenposten/Saturday)
• The Socialist Left Party has never been closer to taking office than it is today. The union movement is putting severe pressure on the Labour Party to form a coalition government with the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party. (Klassekampen/Saturday)
• Recent opinion polls show that the political left as a whole is gaining ground, while the Christian Democrats and the Conservatives are struggling. Kjell Magne Bondevik is worried by the progress made by the Socialist Left Party. "The Socialist Left Party’s pledge to reduce working hours will empty nurseries, schools and the healthcare institutions of their staff," said Mr Bondevik. (Dagsavisen/Sunday)
• A third of students taking vocational courses at the country’s upper secondary schools leave before the end of their first year. Anders Folkestad, head of the Norwegian Teachers’ Union, believes many students give up because the courses contain too much theory and too little practical work. (Aftenposten/Sunday)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

In the shadow of the debate over who will form the next government the Socialist Left Party has surged forward in the polls and looks set to become the country’s third largest party. Kristin Halvorsen is a good communicator and has argued strongly for the party’s key policies, particularly in the area of education and schools. And Ms Halvorsen has had the advantage of not being attacked by the other parties. Prime ministerial candidates Stoltenberg, Bondevik and Petersen have largely concentrated on each other. Ahead of the campaign’s final week Kjell Magne Bondevik warned voters against the Socialist Left Party’s policies, calling them a threat to the welfare state. He pointed to the Socialist Left Party’s manifesto pledge to introduce a 6-hour working day, and claimed that nurseries and healthcare institutions would be emptied of staff if the working week were reduced to 30 hours. Kristin Halvorsen and Øystein Djupedal were quick to respond that the pledge is meant to be implemented over time, and not during the next parliamentary term. The Socialist Left Party’s leadership knows that if their party is to gain power at national level, it must compromise and lower its political ambitions. The first meeting with the Ministry of Finance and the day-to-day workings of government are a shock for any party, and particularly so for a party with such high ambitions on behalf of society as the Socialist Left Party. Even if the party has changed, Kristin Halvorsen and Øystein Djupedal will have to work hard within the party organization if the Socialist Left Party is to become a member of the government.