PM regrets timing of VAT reform (Dagsavisen)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg was certain about one thing during yesterday’s speech of repentance to the Oslo branch of the Labour Party – he will never again introduce a major reform of the VAT system in an election year. The PM’s mea culpa over the VAT reform, or rather the bad timing of the Labour Party’s decision to implement it, was just one of a number of admissions and professions of self-reproach from a Prime Minister who, though humbled, had not lost the will to fight. Mr Stoltenberg said he regretted the party’s advertising campaign and the fact that the sickness benefit debate was derailed at the last minute. But he also said he believes the Labour Party’s disastrous election result had deeper roots – such as the fact that the voters are less loyal and more willing to switch sides, that Norway’s oil wealth has created sky-high expectations among the population, that the wear and tear on the party from running a minority government had become too great. Mr Stoltenberg’s biggest admission came at the end. The Labour Party, he said, had lost its grip on its basic mission – the fight for social justice.

Blame each other for Labour’s defeat (Aftenposten)

The Prime Minister and the Labour Party chairman have different explanations for Labour’s defeat. They both say it is mainly the other one’s fault. Both agree that the main reason for Labour’s election defeat lies farther back in time than this autumn’s election. The Labour Party has polled around 25 per cent in the opinion polls since as long ago as last year. The party has fundamental problems. The two Labour leaders are agreed on most political issues, but disagree over tactics and strategy.

A long way still to go (Aftenposten)

One day of exploratory talks between the Conservatives, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals has not provided any answers to the question of whether the three parties will form a coalition government. The only thing which has become clear after the first day of talks is that it has still not been decided if there will be a coalition partnership between the three parties. All parties have warned that no broader conclusions than that should be drawn at this time.

Trade-off necessary to become PM (Vårt Land)

Who is to become prime minister, Kjell Magne Bondevik or Jan Petersen, was not at the top of the agenda, but the parties expect to clarify the situation fairly fast. The battle to become prime minister is not officially part of the current exploratory talks on key policy issues. The individuals concerned do not want to let the battle influence policy negotiations.

Kværner: new board, new billions (Aftenposten)

Yesterday Kværner was forced to go cap in hand to its bankers, led by Den norske Bank. The company needed NOK 1 billion – yesterday. Kværner will get its money, but will have to pay a high price. The banks are demanding that Kværner’s shareholders invest another NOK 2 billion in additional equity. At the same time as many as five of the six shareholder-elected board members will probably be replaced. It remained unclear yesterday whether Harald Arnkværn would continue as chairman, or whether Kjell Inge Røkke would be offered a seat on the board.

Oil workers’ union will close down North Sea oil industry (Dagbladet)

The Federation of Oil Workers’ Trade Unions (OFS) has said it will close down all oil production activity and send its members back to shore if Norwegian oil installations are threatened by terrorists. The OFS is concerned by what it sees as an ill-defined Norwegian strategy regarding oil and gas production in a war situation, and believes there is an obvious risk that oil workers could be taken hostage. This could lead to an oil crisis which could affect the whole of Europe.

Interest rates may be cut before Christmas (Dagens Næringsliv)

A cut in interest rates by the Norwegian Central Bank could be just around the corner. According to several economists this newspaper has spoken to, interest rates will probably have fallen by a half percentage point before the Christmas presents have been unwrapped. Behind this prediction is Monday’s 0.5 percentage point cut in US interest rates. "I think there is room for a fairly large cut in interest rates, provided that the pressure on the Norwegian economy remains stable," said professor Jan Tore Klovland of the Norwegian School of Economics and Business (NHH) in Bergen.

Worth Noting

• Nine out of ten Norwegians are strongly opposed to any US military attack on Afghanistan. But if diplomacy fails and President Bush carries out his threats of war, six out of ten Norwegians believe that Norway should take part in a military action. (Dagbladet)
• Before Norway will take part in any counter-attack, it must be proved that Osama bin Laden was the mastermind behind last Tuesday’s terrorist attacks in the USA. Norway’s position has been confirmed by both Espen Barth Eide, State Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Labour Party’s former chairman of the Storting’s Foreign Affairs Committee, Haakon Blankenborg. (Verdens Gang)
• The environmental lobby is putting its trust in Kjell Magne Bondevik to stand up for the environment in the current coalition negotiations with the Conservatives. The environmental organizations unanimously expect Mr Bondevik to prevent the construction of gas-fired power stations. (Nationen)
• The number of people suffering from diabetes is probably far higher than previously thought, according to a recent survey carried out in Oslo. (Dagsavisen)
• Reduced VAT has contributed to a steep rise in supermarket sales. Some supermarket chains are selling up to 20 per cent more than at the same point last year. (Aftenposten)
• Trade and Industry Minister Grete Knudsen has not been informed of the recently revealed financial problems at Kværner, and is therefore extremely surprised by the company’s current liquidity crisis. She will not be contacting the company’s management at this time, but expects to be told if the situation at Kværner becomes too serious. (Aftenposten)
• Kjell Inge Røkke and Aker Maritime will come to Kværner’s rescue. Together with the National Insurance Fund, Mr Røkke has guaranteed the company NOK 2 billion in fresh capital. The solution was arrived at following pressure from Den norske Bank. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• EU members Sweden, Finland and Denmark have become better at attracting foreign investment than Norway, according to a UN report. (Dagens Næringsliv)

Today’s comment from Verdens Gang

We believe Jan Petersen should be in the best position to become Prime Minister in a coalition government consisting of the Conservatives, the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. It is the Conservative Party which has the best arguments for demanding that its leader becomes the new leader of the government. Up to now most of the forecasts have pointed to Kjell Magne Bondevik, and we are in no way ruling out that he may in the end be the preferred choice. Mr Bondevik is extremely good at what he does and he has recent experience of leading a government. But Mr Petersen is also well qualified, and in our opinion the election result speaks overwhelmingly in his favour. Not only that, but Mr Petersen is rapidly catching up with Mr Bondevik in the popularity stakes. Gallup’s new poll yesterday shows that 47 per cent of the electorate prefer Mr Bondevik, while 40 per cent want the Conservative leader. It is even more interesting that Jan Petersen is the preferred prime minister among the three potential coalition partners’ own voters. Together, 56 per cent of Conservative, Christian Democrat and Liberal voters support Mr Petersen for prime minister, while 44 per cent say they would prefer Mr Bondevik. A Gallup poll is not an election, but when both the election results and the polls are so clear in their verdict, the Conservatives cannot submit to the three parties ignoring it.