German pilot blamed (Aftenposten)

The conversation between the control tower and the German pilots of the Cessna aircraft shows that there was a mix up about which runway they were on. They thought they were on "R5", but were in reality on the same runway as the SAS airliner with 110 people onboard, which was preparing for take off. "It is clear that the pilots of the Cessna plane made an error," said the Milan public prosecutor yesterday. The question of the airport’s lack of ground radar was a key issue at yesterday’s press conference. SAS’s chief executive refused to level any criticism at the airport authorities at this time, saying he would await the outcome of the official investigation. At that point SAS would make its own judgement, based on the results of the investigation which is now underway.

Battle over Education Ministry (Aftenposten)

The new coalition government’s line up will not be finalised until Monday evening at the earliest, but some things are already clear. Jan Petersen will be deputy prime minister and Foreign Minister, while Per-Kristian Foss will hold the keys to the treasury. The major battle, however, is over the Education Ministry. All three parties are keen to capture the education slot. The Liberals are in the weakest position, but even so their candidate, Odd Einar Dørum, looks set for a return to cabinet office.

Stoltenberg spanner in the works (Dagsavisen)

The Stoltenberg Government has decided to postpone the abolition of investment tax by six months, a move which will cause trouble for the incoming Bondevik government. Unless he accepts the postponement, Mr Bondevik will have to come up with an additional NOK 3 billion from somewhere else. The original intention was to abolish investment tax on 1 January 2002, though the Storting later postponed that date until 1 April. Abolition of the investment tax was the Liberals’ major victory during the budget negotiations between the centre alliance parties and the Labour government last autumn. Today Norwegian businesses pay a seven per cent levy on most investments. Tomorrow Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen will present the Stoltenberg government’s proposed national budget for 2002.

Anti-Bondevik feeling running high in Progress Party (Dagbladet)

Kjell Magne Bondevik will get no clarification from the Progress Party today, and the timing of the change of government has been postponed. All the Progress Party’s county branches are to debate the issue, and incensed county chairmen are demanding concessions from Mr Bondevik in return for their support. The Progress Party leadership have now initiated an approval procedure designed to avenge the fact that Mr Hagen was dumped as a candidate for the Presidency of the Storting and the lack of political influence the party has been granted. Mr Bondevik’s dream is to take office on 17 October, four years after his prime ministerial debut.

Conservatives with backup plan (Dagsavisen)

The Conservatives have developed a backup plan to be implemented if the Progress Party proves less amenable than Jan Petersen hopes. The biggest problem is that if the change of government is postponed the new government’s finance minister, Per-Kristian Foss, will have less time to change the current Labour government’s national budget proposal for next year. For this reason Mr Foss, along with the Conservative Party’s finance committee, will start working on the budget from the Storting – and before a new government has come into office.

Christian Democrats will achieve more with Conservatives (Vårt Land)

Christian Democrat chairman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland believes the party will achieve more in collaboration with the Conservatives than a purely centrist coalition would have done. Even though the party went to the polls campaigning for a new centre alliance government and protested vehemently that a coalition with the Conservatives was not even a plan B alternative, Ms Svarstad Haugland now believes that a new Bondevik government can achieve more.

Almskog kept Kværner’s budget overrun under wraps (Verdens Gang)

By April this year, Kværner’s liabilities were already over NOK 2 billion more than budgeted. However, the company’s chief executive, Kjell Almskog, did not mention the budget overrun on 4 May when he defeated Kjell Inge Røkke at Kværner’s annual general meeting. The Oslo Stock Exchange has already started its own investigation into the collapse of Kværner. One of the key issues for both the Oslo Stock Exchange and the company’s own investigators is whether Kværner’s management and board of directors have fulfilled their duty of disclosure to the stock exchange, the company’s shareholders and the public.

Suppliers fear non-payment (Aftenposten)

Kværner’s management did not have any good news for their rescuers. 50 specially invited investors heard that both suppliers and customers have begun to fear for the company’s ability to meet its liabilities. "We have been making money in the last period. Not as much as we should, but are making money," said chairman Harald Arnkværn yesterday.

Worth Noting

• Barely seconds before the SAS airliner with 110 people onboard crashed into the privately owned Cessna plane, the pilot of a third aircraft realized that an emergency was imminent. But the control tower simply waved traffic on. (Dagsavisen)
• Lower taxes, more privatization and increased competition in the public service sector are some of the things the Progress Party would be saying no to if the party were to choose continued Labour government. (Aftenposten)
• Key parts of the Conservatives’ education policy have been negotiated away. The Conservatives must therefore break many important campaign promises in a core policy area – education. (Verdens Gang)
• Kjell Magne Bondevik has turned his back on old promises and has agreed to introduce the highly controversial EU directive on genetic patenting in order to become prime minister. Mr Bondevik will accept dissent on this issue in a new government, but there is a majority both in the coalition and the Storting in favour of implementing the directive. (Nationen)
• Today there are 16 wolves left in Norway. A further 12 wolves inhabit an area spanning both sides of the Norwegian/Swedish border in Hedmark, Akershus and Østfold counties. Two young animals have been identified in Norway and one in the border pack near Kongsvinger. (Dagbladet)

Today’s comment from Dagens Næringsliv

Carl I. Hagen is upset because he was not elected President of the Storting. "It has always been my dream," said Mr Hagen yesterday. But his anguish over being dumped was probably motivated as much by politics as by personal feelings. Mr Hagen is the closest we get in Norway to a party proprietor, which has been both a blessing and a bane for the party. It proved to be a strength during last year’s purge of "intransigents". But it is also Carl I. Hagen himself who is blocking the Progress Party from fulfilling his dream of taking office. He has been around for so many years, and made so many harsh pronouncements that he is the very symbol of everything politicians from the other parties find objectionable in the Progress Party. What makes the centrist parties shiver at the thought of Mr Hagen is same thing which made the Labour Party put its foot down over his candidacy for the Presidency of the Storting. He is not a sufficiently "unifying" figure. The party has therefore been forced back to square one, and the prospect of government office is as remote as ever. The question now is whether Mr Hagen and his party will do more than yesterday’s demonstration of annoyance. Being in a position to tip the balance one way or the other, the possibilities are enormous. Mr Hagen can delay the change of government and contribute to chaos over the budget. We believe he will choose another tack. The Progress Party’s efforts to come in from the cold will probably take four years – not two. But most politicians, even those wandering in the wilderness, are concerned about what posterity will say of them. Moses is remembered, even though he never reached the promised land.

NOREG