The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo
Press Division

Norway Daily No. 49/01

Date: 12 March 2001

Fewer car death drivers to be prosecuted for manslaughter (Aftenposten)

Each year around 40 Norwegian car drivers are convicted of manslaughter. This number is too high, according to Justice Minister Hanne Harlem. In future car drivers will not be charged with manslaughter in less serious cases, but will be prosecuted for driving without due care and attention. "It is not our intention to relax the obligation to exercise due care and attention when driving," Ms Harlem is careful to point out. Charges of manslaughter will still be brought in cases involving alcohol or speeding, and where pedestrians are knocked down on pedestrian crossings.

Better than feared (Nationen/Saturday)

As a result of restrictions on the transport of cloven-hoofed animals introduced by the Norwegian Animal Health Authority on the instructions of the EU, imports of this livestock category into Norway will be banned from Monday. However, no abattoir employees will be laid off and meat prices will remain at current levels – at least for the next two weeks. Farmers’ organizations have accepted the transport restrictions.

No tax rises planned (Dagsavisen)

Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen "has no plans" to raise the overall level of taxes next year. This was the Government’s message yesterday as cabinet ministers started discussions on next year’s national budget. But some groups can probably expect a significant rise in taxes because the Government must find the cash to compensate for the loss of around NOK 4 billion in revenues following abolition of the investment tax from 1 April next year. In addition the Government has promised to raise the threshold for the high income tax surcharge to make sure that it does not penetrate even more deeply into ordinary income brackets. The Finance Minister is planning another tight fiscal budget in 2002.

Getting in position to join a coalition government (Dagsavisen/Sunday)

The Socialist Left Party’s hunger for office dominates the party’s annual conference this weekend. Only a minority of delegates are any longer voicing their opposition to a possible coalition with the Labour Party and the Centre Party. The Socialist Left Party’s annual conference voted by a large majority not to give political opponents a wide berth if the party has the chance of a seat in government. The resolution means that the party is open for any political constellation that would get it into power. But only as long as the government’s policies become more left-wing.

Moderate growth despite bad year on the stock market (Dagsavisen)

The Norwegian Central Bank is satisfied with the way it is managing Norway’s petroleum fund. But at 2.5 per cent, last year’s return on investment was barely higher than the rate of inflation. Adjusting for inflation the real return on investment was a measly 0.56 per cent. At the end of the year the Government Petroleum Fund had shares in almost 1,800 companies in over 20 countries, and government bonds and bank deposits in as many countries. With the exception of two nations most of these countries contribute less than one per cent to the overall return on investment of NOK 6.6 billion. The USA accounts for NOK 12 billion, while investments in Japan resulted in a loss of NOK 4 billion.

Substantial loss for Petroleum Fund (Verdens Gang/Sunday)

Share prices in the USA are falling fast – and it is hurting us. The Government Petroleum Fund lost close to NOK 1 billion on its stock market investments last Friday alone. US and Canadian stock market prices plunged on Friday evening. The broadest indexes lost around two per cent, which has a direct impact on the value of Norway’s Petroleum Fund. At the start of this year the Fund’s investments in US and Canadian shares were worth some NOK 45 billion. A drop of two per cent means a loss of almost NOK 1 billion for the Petroleum Fund.

Too few oil professionals in Norway (Aftenposten/Sunday)

A year after the Norwegian oil industry sacked 1,000 trained professionals, the warning lights are flashing. In three years’ time Norwegian oil companies will experience a shortage of qualified personnel. The reason is a substantial reduction in the number of students applying to study oil related subjects at university. Applications to the MSc programme in Stavanger have fallen by 82 per cent in two years, and by 55 per cent in Trondheim. It is the industry’s own fault. Oil companies have been painting an extremely gloomy picture of the future in order to achieve special treatment, according to Aftenposten’s leader writer.

Petroleum Fund ethics (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)

Svein Gjedrem, Governor of the Norwegian Central Bank, is finding it extremely difficult to manage the Government Petroleum Fund’s investments according to a higher moral standard than that which is expressed in the individual countries’ national legislation. "Companies are so closely linked together that it is almost impossible to find any who are truly spotless. It seems therefore hopeless to use such guidelines to steer investment policy," says Mr Gjedrem. He points to Norway’s efforts in various international fora to promote stricter guidelines, and mentions specifically the UN and the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Unions strapped for cash (Aftenposten)

Several of the unions belonging to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) are in financial difficulties. Hardest hit are the Norwegian Union of Hotel and Restaurant Workers and the Norwegian Union of Electrical and Information Technology Employees. "We must choose our priorities better because no one believes it is possible to raise membership fees," says outgoing LO vice president Jan Balstad. Preliminary figures for several of the LO unions show that last year was a disaster. Many of them are in a vicious circle where financial problems lead to reduced service to members who then do not feel it is worth continuing to pay their membership dues.

Unions want all mention of privatization removed from hospital reform plans (Klassekampen)

Yngve Hågensen, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), wants to delete anything that could be interpreted as promoting privatization from the coming bill on the government take-over of Norway’s hospitals. The LO central office will formally decide their position on the Government’s hospital reform plans on Monday. In particular it is Section 39, "Cooperation with others", of Health Minister Tore Tønne’s bill which has made Mr Hågensen suspect the Government has a hidden agenda.

Worth Noting

• In the course of just over a year the environmental authorities’ hunt for wolves in Østerdalen and wolf-hybrids in Østfold will cost nearly NOK 4 million, or possibly more. (Aftenposten)
• According to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) wages in Norway are rising too fast. The LO is worried that for the fourth year in a row wage and price inflation is higher in Norway than in the countries with which we compete. Recent figures show that salaries rose on average by NOK 4.5 per cent last year. (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)
• In the past five years over 23,000 unemployed people have falsely claimed NOK 165 million in unemployment and disability benefits. Around 10 per cent of those on the dole are dishonest. The Directorate of Labour have a special fraud squad who are continually on the hunt for benefit cheats. (Dagsavisen/Saturday)
• The public prosecution service has now brought charges against 783 unemployed people who have falsely claimed too much in unemployment benefit. They have been charged with fraud and face up to six years imprisonment if found guilty. (Dagsavisen/Saturday)
• Ex-members of the Progress Party – those who have left in protest and those who have been expelled – are planning to form a new national party. The protesters are hoping to persuade Vidar Kleppe to join them and head several county lists of parliamentary candidates at the next general election. (NTB/Saturday)
• Following the introduction of performance based salaries by the Norwegian Central Bank last year, it is those bank employees who manage the Government Petroleum Fund who have the highest salaries. Governor Svein Gjedrem’s best paid investment experts earned around NOK 2 million last year. The Governor himself earned only half that amount. (Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)
• The closure of many defence installations around the country could weaken Norway’s preparedness in the event of a major disaster. The Directorate for Civil Defence and Emergency Planning plans to close the gaps by establishing a closer cooperation with the Home Guard. (Aftenposten)
• Recent statistics from the National Insurance Administration and the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry show that around 200,000 people or 10 per cent of the workforce are off sick each day. This costs employers and the National Insurance Administration NOK 40 billion each year. (Aftenposten/Saturday)
• Slemdal post office and 71 other properties owned by the Postal Administration will shortly be put up for sale. The Post Office hopes the sale will bring in around NOK 1.1 billion. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• For the first time ever cod fry are to be farmed into fully grown fish in Lofoten. Expectations for the project are high, and in theory the industry will be able to manage without traditional sea fishing within a few years. (Aftenposten)
• In a report to the Storting the Government has proposed that the Church of Norway shall accept the appointment of homosexuals to ordained positions within the church, and the Workers’ Protection Act be changed to ensure that this right is secured. This is an attack on the Church, according to both the Christian Democratic Party and the National Council of the Church of Norway. Gay rights organizations, on the other hand, are elated. (Vårt Land/Saturday)

Today’s comment from Dagbladet

A unanimous Socialist Left annual party conference has voted in favour of seeking inclusion in a coalition government with the Labour Party if the results of the next general election and negotiations prior to the formation of the next government make this a feasible option. The resolution marks a watershed in the party’s history. Similar proposals on the part of the party leadership have previously led to deep divisions. A significant minority on the party’s left wing have always voted against any cooperation with the Labour Party. This faction has not been without good arguments. The Socialist Left Party’s predecessor, SF, was created by former members of the Labour Party who had been excluded because their views on foreign and security policy were incompatible with Labour’s. The Socialist Left Party still declares itself to be a "socialist" party. It opposes EU membership, it is against Nato and especially its new "out of area" strategy. On many issues the party is on a collision course with Labour. But the Socialist Left’s decision to seek participation in a coalition government with the Labour Party is the result of a collective realization that a party which does not seek power will never gain influence. A party which can only cooperate with itself does not have much of a place in practical politics. The fact that the Socialist Left Party, which has rallied the factions at its centre, has managed to come to this realization is proof hat the party is serious about moving away from an existence based purely on protest.