Party rallies round weakened leader (Aftenposten)

Terje Søviknes, Carl I. Hagen’s former heir apparent, has resigned from all the posts he has held within the party and has been given leave of absence from his position as mayor of Os. The Progress Party’s parliamentary group and constituency party leaders support Mr Hagen’s handling of the Søviknes scandal. They blame Terje Søviknes for the current mess, not the party leadership. The Progress Party now intends to put the scandal behind it and move on – without Mr Søviknes and, above all, without allegations of rape and indecency hanging over it.

A party not like all the rest (Dagsavisen)

The sex scandal currently shaking the Progress Party would have been the undoing of any other Norwegian political party. But according to the electoral experts, Carl I. Hagen’s leadership is not under threat and the voters will remain loyal to the party. "The Progress Party has no real alternative to Mr Hagen. His position is so supreme that the party has nothing to gain if he resigns," says Bernt Aardal, of the Institute for Social Research. "Mr Hagen will stay. He owns the party. Who could take over from him? There is no one within the party who would dare to challenge him," says Anders Todal Jenssen, a researcher on electoral issues at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU).

Could not have happened here (Dagsavisen)

The other party leaders are shocked that Carl I. Hagen gave such strong support to Terje Søviknes and his candidacy for a seat in the next Storting, despite being fully aware of the serious allegations of sexual misconduct being made against him. "I don’t think any of us would have survived this as party leaders," says Liberal Party chairman Lars Sponheim. Conservative Party chairman Jan Petersen says it could not have happened in his party. "I would have intervened the moment I found out about it. I could have no confidence in a person like that," says Kristin Halvorsen, leader of the Socialist Left Party.

John Alvheim to be new deputy chairman? (Dagbladet)

Party veteran John Alvheim looks set to become a candidate for the position of deputy chairman when the Progress Party holds its annual conference. He would not mind the job. "I am keen, but that is not enough. If I am asked, I will have to think it over together with my family. I have to take my family, the job situation and my age into account," says Mr Alvheim, who will be 71 in May.

Petroleum Directorate calls Norsk Hydro to account today (Aftenposten)

Senior managers of Norsk Hydro’s oil business will meet representatives of the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate to explain a number of recent serious safety lapses. On the agenda will be Norsk Hydro’s relations with the Petroleum Directorate and the lack of focus on safety at one of Norway’s major oil companies.

Illegal (Dagens Næringsliv)

The commission of inquiry set up by Orkla’s board of directors says that if Kjell Inge Røkke is the mystery owner of a controversial block of shares in Orkla, the loan the company granted to Mr Røkke’s company, Norway Seafoods Holding, would be illegal. Orkla’s management has spent a long time, and engaged external legal expertise, to fight the commission’s inquiry. If the commission is right, it may be difficult for chief executive Jens P. Heyerdahl to become chairman of the company when he leaves office later this year.

Worth Noting

Carl I. Hagen and the rest of the Progress Party leadership will be interviewed by police as part of an investigation into rape allegations against Terje Søviknes. (Dagbladet)

For nine months Porsgrunn police knew of the allegations that Terje Søviknes sexually assaulted a 16-year-old girl, yet did nothing. The police were informed 11 May last year, but the complaint was shelved that same day. (Dagens Næringsliv)

According to the latest opinion poll from MMI, the Progress Party continues to lose voters, while the Labour Party is gaining support. The Progress Party has dropped to under the 20 per cent mark for the first time since the summer, but is still the country’s second largest party. The Labour Party has again moved up to over 30 per cent. (Dagbladet)

Norsk Hydro’s safety problems will not affect the outcome when the next round of concessions are awarded, assuming that the company makes the necessary improvements, says Petroleum and Energy Minister Olav Akselsen. (Dagsavisen)

The Directorate of Public Construction and Property says that the huge budget overrun connected with the renovation of the Royal Palace in Oslo was in part due to the royal couple’s many demands and wishes, added to which the original budget was inadequate. Dagbladet has gained access to two new reports detailing what went wrong when the controversial palace renovation overran its budget by NOK 340 million. (Dagbladet)

Anti-wolf protection measures cost an arm and a leg. Each year Rendalen Council spends NOK 185,000 per sheep farmer to protect the farmers’ livestock. (Verdens Gang)

Today’s comment from Verdens Gang

In two days Defence Minister Bjørn Tore Godal will let the cat out of the bag – or more correctly, what is left of the cat. The broad outline for how the Norwegian Armed Forces will be organized in the coming years is already well known. We are looking at a drastic reorganization, which will take us even further away from what we have liked to call a popular defence strategy and a defence against invasion. We have absolutely no quarrel with the need to reorganize Norway’s Armed Forces. In political terms there is little likelihood that someone will one day attack Norway. This is partly due to the limited military capacity of a possible enemy to initiate an attack. But the military capacity of our friends and allies, who would have to come to our aid in such an event, has also been cut to the bone. This is an important factor to bear in mind when determining Norway’s future defence structure.