Peaceful protest (Aftenposten/Dagbladet)

A couple of stones thrown at a McDonald’s restaurant was the closest it came to the much-feared orgy of violence in Oslo’s city centre yesterday evening. The mass demonstration against the World Bank turned into an enthusiastic but peaceful political carnival. A team of headcounters from the organization No to the EU recorded 12,600 demonstrators in the colourful march through the city centre. "We hope that Oslo has reversed the trend that we have seen in other cities in the world," said Anstein Gjengedal, chief constable of the Oslo police force.

Security cost NOK 50 million (Dagsavisen)

In an interview with Dagsavisen, Arne Johannessen, president of the Norwegian Police Union, confirmed that NOK 50 million has been cited as the price tag for the security measures implemented in connection with the World Bank conference in Oslo. But he thinks this figure is too low. "I think the real figure is much higher than that," he said. The police emergency response unit numbered over 1,000 officers, while an unknown number of officers have been involved in surveillance operations over the past few days.

Steer clear of Hagen, Bondevik told (Dagsavisen)

The Christian Democratic Party’s branch chairmen have called on Prime Minister Kjell Mange Bondevik to stop the Government’s economic policy collaboration with the Progress Party. A clear majority of the party’s branch chairmen who Dagsavisen has spoken to believe the close links with the Progress Party are eroding the PM’s popularity. The branch chairmen also feel the Government’s rough ride this spring is a contributory factor to the slump in Mr Bondevik’s popularity.

Top marks to Erna Solberg (Dagbladet)

Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik can today sit down and review a political spring that ended in a bloody nose for the Government, which was forced to accept a reform package for pre-school day care sponsored by a parliamentary majority made up of the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party, the Progress Party and the Centre Party. But Mr Bondevik has decided to duck his head and keep going, despite the growing discontent in his own party with what is seen as the Government’s Conservative-dominated politics. Dagbladet’s political desk has evaluated the performance of each minister and has awarded top marks to Local Government and Regional Affairs Minister Erna Solberg (Con). Full house for Norway’s home affairs minister. She has succeeded in making the Local Government and Regional Affairs Ministry one of the Government’s most important departments.

Fewer asylum seekers expected (NTB)

Local Government Minister Erna Solberg expects that fewer asylum seekers will come to Norway this year than the forecast of 18,000. "The number of asylum seekers has fallen in recent months. We thought the figure would be 18,000, but it now looks as though it will be 16,000-17,000. This is around the same level as last year," said Ms Solberg. She puts the drop in those seeking asylum down to the repeal of the rule which automatically gave residence rights to asylum seekers whose applications had not been finally processed within a 15-month period, faster expulsion of those whose applications have been turned down and successful efforts to rebut rumours that Norway is a soft touch for asylum seekers.

Performance-based pay for local government workers (Aftenposten)

Satisfied inhabitants could result in higher pay for local government workers. The Norwegian Association of Local Authorities (KS) has now launched a pilot project in five local authorities with performance-based pay linked to the efficiency and quality of the work carried out. The KS believes that faster processing of building applications and higher quality care from the social services will be the result of the new pay scheme. It will be up to the individual local authority to decide which groups of workers will be covered by the new bonus scheme.

Football strike called off (Dagbladet)

Norwegian football fans can once again don their supporters’ outfits. At 1.30 this morning came the news that the football strike was over. Players will be back in training this morning and the cup matches due to be played tomorrow will go ahead as planned. Both parties to the strike agree on one thing – nobody won.

Worth Noting

• Intelligence reports ahead of yesterday’s demonstration against the World Bank in Oslo indicated that petrol bombs, as well as clubs and knives were being prepared by demonstrators. Some of yesterday’s activists were carrying planks of wood, which were obviously intended to be used as clubs. (Verdens Gang)
• The Immigration Directorate (UDI) decided yesterday to expel seven Danish citizens who had come to Norway to demonstrate. "The police have abused their authority under the Immigration Act to prevent a legal demonstration," said lawyer John Christian Elden. (Dagsavisen)
• Many young people from immigrant backgrounds do not complete their upper secondary education. One reason for this is that many of them arrive in Norway as teenagers, and it takes them time to catch up on their education at a lower level. (Vårt Land)
• Tax is a private matter, says the Progress Party, which has called for a ban on newspapers publishing the official tax lists. The Conservative Party has promised to look into the issue. The Socialist Left Party thinks it would be a major step backwards if the Progress Party succeeds in mustering a parliamentary majority for its proposal. (Aftenposten)
• Kjell Magne Bondevik’s popularity has plunged since he became Prime Minister. Only 29 per cent of the electorate think he is the person best suited to running the country. 25 per cent want Jens Stoltenberg as PM, while 18 per cent would prefer Carl I. Hagen. (Dagsavisen)
• Professor Øystein Noreng, of the Norwegian School of Management, believes that if Norway and the UK agree to a collaboration in the North Sea, Norwegian gas could become more attractive – and therefore more expensive. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Eight out of ten farmers are opposed to Norwegian membership of the EU, concludes a recently published report. But the farmers’ unanimity is much less compact when it comes to the WTO. Over half of them say they do not know what to think about Norwegian participation. (Nationen)
• A substantial majority of the Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees’ central committee is in favour of amalgamating with the Norwegian Association of Health and Social Care Personnel. This brings the prospect of a major new union, comprising 30,000 members, a step closer. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• In its first year without government subsidies the coal mining company on Svalbard has made a profit for the first time. The new mine at Svea is controversial, but has got off to an excellent start. Coal has been mined in Longyearbyen since 1916, but it has never been a financial success. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Verdens Gang

There is a tinge of cowardice attached to the refusal by leaders of the anti-World Bank demonstration in Oslo to accept an invitation to participate in the Bank’s expert conference on development. No small number of the around 300 experts gathered in Oslo for the conference are in fact critical of the World Bank’s activities. ‘Globalization’ has become a trendy term of abuse. There is no doubt that the countries which already have the biggest financial problems are often among the biggest losers when borders become more transparent. But globalization is not the root of all evil, as many of the demonstrators gathered in Oslo seem to think. For what is the alternative? Protectionism and isolation in the third and fourth worlds will only make a bad situation even worse. What is needed is a much stronger desire, particularly on the part of the rich countries which dominate the World Bank, to back their words with action. There is no lack of fancy phrases in the speeches given by international leaders. But there is still a long way to go before the wealthy nations of the world open up their markets to goods produced by the poorest countries. And while this expert conference could have been a useful forum for much of the criticism which was expressed on the streets of Oslo yesterday evening – the opportunity was missed.