Progress Party bosses under pressure (Dagsavisen)

Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen dreams of having a peaceful party conference, but will not get his wish. He and the rest of the party leadership are being asked to consider resigning if the Progress Party does as badly at the election as the current polls would indicate. "We must have some fresh blood at the top. If the Progress Party had been a company, the whole management team would have been given the sack after the results they have produced this year," says Freddy Hoffman, chairman of the party’s Buskerud County branch.

Norway in air battle with EU (Nationen)

The EU wants flights to the North of Norway to become more expensive. The ESA, the agency that makes sure EFTA countries stick to the EEA Agreement, has called on the Government to impose the same air passenger tax on flights to the North of Norway as applies to other parts of the country. The ESA says the tax exemption for the North of Norway is in breach of the EEA Agreement. Norway introduced the air passenger tax on flights from all airports except those in the country’s three most northerly counties, Nordland, Troms and Finnmark.

Government gains most from high electricity prices (Aftenposten)

The power generators have been blamed for the rise in electricity prices. But the criticism is not entirely fair, according to figures published by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Administration (NVE). In the past six months around 60 per cent of consumers’ electricity bills have gone straight into the Government’s pockets in the form of taxes. "We do not think it is right for us to get the blame for something the Storting has decided," says Axel Collett, head of the Norwegian Electricity Association, whose members include both electricity generators and supply companies.

Tough battle for a seat on the board (Dagens Næringsliv)

The battle for a seat on Kværner’s board of directors looks like being extremely tough. The selection committee announced yesterday that it is proposing Supreme Court advocate Harald Arnkværn as Kværner’s new chairman. Aker Maritime has protested that the proposed board is neither competent nor independent. In addition to three new board members, the selection committee has proposed that three existing members continue as shareholders’ representatives.

Røkke sees red (Aftenposten)

When Kjell Inge Røkke learned that Krisian Siem had been proposed as one of the new members of Kværner’s board, he was livid. Mr Røkke is extremely annoyed that the new board is made up of people who have already come out against him. In practice Mr Røkke has had the offer of a seat on the board since Christmas, but decided in the end to say no.

Almskog could get pay-off without quitting (Verdens Gang)

Kværner’s chief executive, Kjell Almskog, does not need to get the sack to qualify for a substantial severance pay-off. If Mr Almskog is not elected to the board of directors at Kværner’s annual general meeting on 4 May, he will receive the biggest golden parachute in Norwegian history. This is the conclusion of a legal opinion Mr Almskog himself has requested, and which he may use as an argument to persuade the selection committee to propose him as a board member. The pay-off itself amounts to Mr Almskog’s salary for the rest of his contract period, that is until December 2003. Last year Mr Almskog’s salary was NOK 8.2 million, which brings his severance pay-off up to NOK 21.2 million.

Minister drops proposal to force companies to put women on the board (Dagens Næringsliv)

Companies will not now be forced to vote a minimum number of women onto their boards of directors. Children and Family Affairs Minister Karita Bekkemellem Orheim has changed her mind and will not this year be proposing a bill on quotas for women on company boards as she promised before Christmas. Instead various different proposals will now be sent for consultation. Ms Bekkemellem Orheim has had the goal of 40 per cent women on company boards as one of her key policies for the past two years.

Palace wants drinkers off Karl Johan (Verdens Gang)

The Palace is demanding that the many bars and restaurants lining Oslo’s main street, Karl Johans gate, close their pavement tables on the day of Crown Prince Haakon’s wedding to Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby, from 10 o’clock in the morning until 7 o’clock in the evening. The wedding procession will follow Karl Johans gate from the Palace to the Cathedral where the ceremony will take place on 25 August. Head of Chancellery Egil Vindorum has presented the Palace’s list of recommendations for the big day in a letter to the Oslo City Council. As a result Oslo’s main street could be ‘dry’ for the day, to the despair of the restaurant owners.

Worth Noting

• Foreign Minister Thorbjørn Jagland and sections of the Opposition clashed head on yesterday in the Storting. At issue was the Government’s Middle East policy, Norwegian support for India as a permanent member of an expanded UN Security Council, and the Government’s handling of the current dispute with Russia over Svalbard. Mr Jagland strongly rejected any criticism of the Government’s actions and accused the Opposition of blatant electioneering. (Aftenposten)
• Medical scientists are to be forced to carry out research into women’s health. The aim is to avoid discrimination and gain knowledge of health issues relating to both sexes. (Verdens Gang)
• Five former psychiatric patients have written to the Council of Europe’s Committee on Torture, detailing what they claim to be abuses at Norwegian psychiatric hospitals. (Nationen)
• The European Commission is unhappy about the lack of information from Aker Maritime on who has purchased the company’s controversial 8.9 per cent stake in Kværner. Aker Maritime risks not being allowed to vote its own shares at Kværner’s annual general meeting next week. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Norwegian salmon farmers are losing market share in Europe, despite the fact that export volumes are rising. This was one of the objectives of the EU’s salmon agreement with Norway. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Verdens Gang

The national railway company, NSB, has reacted angrily to Labour and Government Administration Minister Jørgen Kosmo’s criticism of the company in a memo to Transport Minister Terje Moe Gustavsen. A number of MPs have also taken issue with Mr Kosmo’s memo-writing on a matter of procedure because he wrote his unflattering comments on his ministry’s headed notepaper. Our advice to Mr Kosmo is to ignore all the flak. In fact it is refreshing that a Minister demonstrates such a normal reaction and dares to call a spade a spade when it comes to NSB. It would be a poor thing indeed if a government minister could not express his feelings about the problems at NSB. Mr Kosmo has been a regular passenger on board the company’s trains and as a result knows what he is talking about. In our opinion Jørgen Kosmo has just put down on paper what a vast number of train passengers feel – that NSB is not operating for the benefit of its customers.