Government finally responds to Holmlia death (Dagsavisen)

Three days after the tragic death of a black teenager in Holmlia, a southern suburb of Oslo, the Government has finally responded. The Government has announced it will consider imposing a ban on the use of neo-nazi symbols and organizations. "If Benjamin Hermansen’s death proves to have been racially motivated, it means we stand at a crossroads in Norway. Racially motivated murder has happened in other countries before, but for us it is something new," said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg at a press conference yesterday morning.

Hagen loses voter support (Aftenposten)

Half of all voters have a more negative impression of the Progress Party, and one in three voters say it is less likely they will vote for the party at the coming general election, according to an opinion poll carried out yesterday evening by market research company Opinion on behalf of Aftenposten. Carl I. Hagen says he is very pleased with the results and that he had expected a greater drop in support. The Progress Party’s Oslo branch is deeply divided after the weekend’s turbulent meeting. Several members have resigned from the party and the number of Progress Party representatives on the Oslo city council has been halved.

Norwegian rapid response capability not good enough (Aftenposten)

The Government’s evaluation report on Norway’s experience in Kosovo point up serious weaknesses in the Armed Forces rapid response capability. The Air Force contingent Norway sent to Kosovo lacked technical and communications equipment, as well as adequate personnel contracts. In addition, the Headquarters Defence Command’s chain of command was badly organized. One of the most serious weaknesses detailed in the report is that the Norwegian Armed Forces did not have the equipment to support communications between Norway and the Norwegian Air Force contingent in Italy.

NHO reverses stance on immigration (Dagens Næringsliv)

Twenty days ago, the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) announced it was in favour of unlimited immigration of economic migrants from those eastern European countries which have applied for membership of the EU. But now the NHO has completely reversed its position and says a quota of 10,000 immigrants is enough. NHO vice president Olav Magnussen said yesterday to the web site lo-media.no that the NHO’s original call for increased immigration was "wrong". "The issue came up too quickly and was badly handled," said Mr Magnussen.

Norwegian bosses lazy and greedy (Dagens Næringsliv)

Norwegian executives over 45 are sitting too comfortably and are getting increasingly greedy. Norwegian business needs to import executives from abroad, according to Alain Tanugi, head of Transearch International Partners, one of Europe’s leading executive recruitment agencies. Executive chairman Karl Martin Stang of the recruitment company Mercuri-Urval also believes that Norwegian executives are generally too snug in their positions compared to colleagues abroad. However, high-profile businessman Christian Thommessen rejects the idea that foreign executives are better than their Norwegian counterparts.

Politicians fudge the issue on Norway’s oil wealth (Aftenposten)

What to do with Norway’s oil wealth is hardly mentioned in the parties’ policy documents covering the next Storting. At best they fudge the issue. Today the Finance Minister starts his consultative meeting with 24 of the country’s leading economists to find out how much of Norway’s oil revenues it would be sensible to spend. As Aftenposten documented in yesterday’s edition, the economists are divided in their advice.

Worth Noting

• Three Oslo city councillors with a background in the immigrant community have received death threats from racists. Abuse and threats have resulted in several of the councillors choosing to have a secret address and telephone number, reports the national broadcasting company, NRK. (NTB)
• The police and the National Police Security Service (POT) have Norway’s neo-nazi groups under close surveillance. Good intelligence work meant that the police could arrest those suspected of involvement in Benjamin Hermansen’s murder after only four hours, says Oslo Chief Constable Arnstein Gjengedahl. (Dagsavisen)
• Support for the Labour Party fell by 1.6 percentage points to 28.1 per cent, while the Conservatives gained 2.8 percentage points to stand at 14.1 per cent, according to the January results of the political barometer carried out by market researchers Din Mening/Norsk Statistikk. The poll also shows that the Progress Party has the backing of 22 per cent of voters, a drop of 0.2 percentage points. (Nationen)
• Norsk Hydro has decided to postpone indefinitely its controversial aluminium project in Orissa, India. The decision follows a series of local demonstrations during which three people were killed. (Dagsavisen)
• Tanker freight rates have fallen by half since the boom reached its peak in November last year. Foreign observers are frightened that the bottom will fall out of the market. However, panic has not yet set in among Norway’s two major players in the tanker market, Frontline and Bergesen, whose revenues remain buoyant. Nevertheless, nervous investors have sent their share prices tumbling. (Aftenposten)
• A recently published report following a unique Norwegian research project on premature babies shows that more than one quarter are affected by behavioural difficulties and attention deficiency as they get older. As many as one in eight have serious problems with reading, writing and numeracy. Children born more than 12 weeks before term are the most seriously affected.
• Singapore is the world’s most globalized country, while Norway comes in ninth position – three places ahead of the USA. A characteristic of Norway and the other Scandinavian countries is the wide availability and extensive use of the internet, one of the criteria for globalization. The journal Foreign Policy in collaboration with the management consultancy A.T. Kearney have put together this recently published globalization index. (Aftenposten)
• If you wish to keep the doctor you have had for years, you will have to say so before 1 March. If you do not mind which doctor you see, you do not have to bother signing on to a specific doctor’s list. You are responsible for making sure you live in a local authority area with an adequate number of doctors. (Dagsavisen)

Today’s comment from Dagbladet

Friday’s frightening and brutal racist murder in the Holmlia suburb of Oslo has shaken our society to its foundations. We search for underlying reasons why the colour of a person’s skin could provoke the intense hatred which must lie behind such an deed. And we ask ourselves what we can do to ensure that such crimes are not committed in the future. The tragedy has sent society into shock, but has also awakened a broad determination to put an end to racism and examine its causes. It is natural and worthy that politicians and others in authority accept their responsibility in such circumstances and publicly express their views. But it is also important not to let such a gruesome crime lead us to set aside the established rules of legal process. We have laws in this country which are sufficient to ensure that the guilty are convicted of their crimes – if the police and prosecuting authorities manage to present adequate proof. Those who commit such crimes also have the right to be treated in accordance with the law and the applicable rules of legal procedure. Cultural Affairs Minister Ellen Horn has been swept up in her own despair over what has happened and proposed a ban on neo-nazi attitudes. But we are, after all, dealing with a small group who do not represent a political threat. The countries which have attempted to solve the problem through a legal ban have succeeded no better than anyone else. An open society will always have its enemies, but it is fundamental to such a society’s principles that attitudes and beliefs should be fought by means of argumentation and not through the use of law and prosecution in the courts. However, when racist attitudes lead to murder it is important that the case is solved quickly, that it is rapidly brought to court and those convicted are sent to prison without delay. Zero tolerance has become a political buzzword which only has meaning within a system where the rule of law is upheld at the same time as society is given maximum protection.