Minister could stop aid to some developing countries (Aftenposten)

Norway’s Minister of Development Cooperation and Human Rights, Anne Kristin Sydnes, is planning to make greater demands on those countries which receive Norwegian foreign aid. Countries which do not do enough to improve their way of government will receive less foreign aid. In her report on foreign affairs to the Storting yesterday, Ms Sydnes said that Norwegian aid policy has in some ways become overextended, in that Norway has been keen to "do the right things, all the time, everywhere". She is now calling on both government agencies and non-governmental organizations to take a serious look at their operations and carry out a critical evaluation of which countries Norway should be working with, which projects we should be cooperating on, and how our efforts can be more focused and more effective.

Progress Party down but not out (Dagsavisen)

Internal purges and sex scandals have frightened the voters away from the Progress Party. But the polls show that Carl I. Hagen could still be the one to decide who will be the next prime minister. Mr Hagen wants the Progress Party to use this weekend’s annual conference to metaphorically lick its wounds. "For us this will be a conference of consolidation, where we try to put things behind us and look forward," says Mr Hagen. He knows that his party could be more influential than ever following this autumn’s general election. "I do not think we are finished as a force in Norwegian politics, even if that is the impression you might have after reading some of the country’s political commentators," he adds.

Support for Hagen crumbles (Verdens Gang)

Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen could hardly have a worse start to his party’s annual conference. In Norsk Gallup’s latest approval ratings, support for Mr Hagen as party leader has plummeted 13 per cent. For the first time since Norsk Gallup started its party leader approval poll five years ago, less than 30 per cent of those interviewed think he is doing a good job. Jens Stoltenberg, on the other hand, has good reason to feel pleased. Even though he still has a long way to go before he can challenge Kjell Magne Bondevik’s popularity (52 per cent), he has doubled his approval rating since it hit rock bottom at 17 per cent in September. 35 per cent of those polled now think he is doing a good job.

LO pledges more support to Labour Party (Dagens Næringsliv)

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) refuses to copy the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry’s (NHO) decision to phase out its financial support for the political parties. The LO leadership is proposing that the LO Congress allocates a record NOK 3 million in contributions to the Labour Party’s election campaign. None of the other parties will get a penny. Four out of the LO central office’s 15 members are opposed to giving financial support to the Labour Party. The proposal comes just days after the Labour Party and the LO presented a joint election manifesto.

Storting demands explanation (Verdens Gang)

Labour and Government Affairs Minister Jørgen Kosmo has been summoned to the Storting to explain why he no longer recommends that people take the train. The Conservatives’ representatives on the Storting’s Transport and Communications Committee are up in arms over a memo Mr Kosmo sent to the Transport Minister. In it he writes among other things: ‘As NSB’s owners the Government is itself responsible for ensuring that the company’s services are improved.’ "That a minister should make such comments is simply unprofessional," says Ole Johs. Brunæs (Conservative).

Parliamentary committee slams budget overruns (Aftenposten)

In a highly critical report on the renovation of the Royal Palace in Oslo, which overran its budget by NOK 341 million, the Storting’s Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs Committee has slammed the role played by the Finance Ministry. The Committee’s unanimous report on the Directorate of Public Construction and Property’s renovation of the Palace was published yesterday. The Committee’s rebuke of the Finance Ministry joins that of the Office of the Auditor General whose swingeing criticism of budget overruns and delays in completing the renovation project at the Palace was published last autumn.

Begged for support (Dagens Næringsliv)

At an information meeting yesterday, Kværner’s chief executive, Kjell Almskog, begged shareholders to support his strategy for the company’s future. Mr Almskog recognizes that at next week’s annual general meeting Kjell Inge Røkke could very well win the battle for Kværner. "We are not perfect, we are not finished, but we are getting there," said Mr Almskog, who feels the good financial results delivered by the company are proof that his strategy is the best one for Kværner.

Worth Noting

• Minister of Development Cooperation and Human Rights, Anne Kristin Sydnes, is planning to reward developing countries which emphasize democratization and respect for human rights. The Norwegian People’s Relief Association is critical to the Government’s proposed change in aid policy. (Vårt Land)
• Relations between Norway and Russia have cooled and some of the language of the Cold War has returned. "I am afraid the level of conflict will rise in the time ahead," says Admiral Einar Skorgen, with reference to the conflicting interests the two countries have over Svalbard, among other things. (Dagbladet)
• All Nato’s military data communications over the internet will in future be encrypted using the Crypt IP system developed by Thales Communications in Oslo. The contract will be signed in Brussels today. (Aftenposten)
• Kjell Inge Røkke did not have to pay interest on a NOK 600 million loan from Orkla. The interest was only paid when the loan was repaid three years later. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• If the EU approves Kværner’s new and as yet unidentified shareholders as being independent of Kjell Inge Røkke, they will be allowed to vote at the company’s annual general meeting. These shareholders could decide the battle for control of Kværner. (Aftenposten)
• The farmers are demanding an additional NOK 1.5 billion in agricultural subsidies this year, while Agriculture Minister Bjarne Håkon Hanssen is offering a cut of NOK 300 million. The gap between the two sides is therefore a whopping NOK 1.8 billion. (Nationen)

Today’s comment from Aftenposten

When the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) starts its discussions on non-unionized employees’ rights and obligations in relation to industrial disputes, two well established, but conflicting, principles stand face to face. The principle of solidarity says that non-unionized employees must go on strike alongside their unionized colleagues. If they do not the strike will be less effective and in the end everyone shares in the benefits won by the strikers, including those who are not members of a union. The principle of free choice, that every individual has the right to decide if they will join a union or not, says that no one may be forced to take strike action against their will. These principles are mutually exclusive. The LO is due to discuss the issue at its annual congress next month. The majority will probably vote to continue the old line. This is not the only area where the LO is out of step with modern thinking. Forcing people to do things they do not want to do was easier before – quite simply because society and social conditions were different. It is a fairly safe bet to predict that the LO will vote in favour of force, and that such a position will be untenable in the long term.