Hagen turns back on budget talks (Aftenposten/Saturday)

A furious Progress Party chairman, Carl I. Hagen, has said he will not resume budget talks at this time. The atmosphere between him and the ruling coalition parties has been further soured by leaks to the press. "I am absolutely livid," said Mr Hagen. Unrestricted waves of pornography and alcohol, less for the world’s poorest and a worse attitude when it comes to basic human dignity. That was how Christian Democratic Party chairman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland described the Progress Party’s policies when she addressed her party’s national executive meeting. Her comments have not improved the chances of conciliation between the two sides.

Christian Democrats doubt sincerity of Labour invitation (Dagsavisen/Saturday)

Christian Democratic Party chairman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland has asked Labour’s Jens Stoltenberg to drop the rhetoric so that they can reach an agreement on next year’s national budget. At the same time, she underlined her view that Labour had distanced itself from the Christian Democrats in recent weeks. Both Ms Svarstad Haugland and Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik are waiting to see how the Labour Party’s annual conference will affect its willingness to negotiate. "We hope that Mr Stoltenberg will receive the support from the annual conference that he needs to pursue a responsible line," said Mr Bondevik. The coalition parties will probably ask for "exploratory" discussions with the Labour Party on Monday in an effort to find out if there is the basis for a possible settlement.

Christian Democrats ask Bondevik to turn to Labour (Dagbladet/Sunday)

The Christian Democratic Party’s national executive committee says that the Government should turn to the Labour Party in an effort to reach an agreement on the budget. The breakdown of negotiations between the ruling coalition parties and the Progress Party was greeted with a sigh of relief by many Christian Democrats. It is no secret that a great many party members would prefer the Labour Party to Carl I. Hagen. "The national executive committee is concerned with getting a budget through the Storting. We know that things are difficult in relation to the Labour Party, but the country must have a budget," said Christian Democratic Party chairman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland.

Krohn Devold under heavy fire – Eurofighter could pull out (Aftenposten/Saturday)

Eurofighter, the European consortium bidding to supply the next generation of fighter aircraft to the Norwegian Air Force, could pull out of the race. If that happens, the decision to buy the US Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) would in practice be made. Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold could have difficulty with Norway’s promise to keep its options open until 2008/2009. Unless Norway puts some money on the table at a meeting on 12 November, Eurofighter does not see any reason to continue discussions about Norwegian industry’s participation in the jet fighter project.

"Resign!" (Verdens Gang)

Centre Party leader Odd Roger Enoksen says that Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold (Con) has put her foot in it far too many times and should resign. "Ms Krohn Devold should offer to resign. She keeps dropping clangers that undercut public confidence in her. That confidence is starting to wear thin," said Mr Enoksen, who is a member of the Storting’s Defence Committee. He feels that Ms Krohn Devold is a bigger problem for the Government than for the Storting. Kristin Halvorsen, leader of the Socialist Left Party, says her opposition party colleagues are lily-livered and thinks that Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik should have intervened more strongly. "Mr Bondevik must immediately ensure that the Defence Minister explains her position to the Storting so that we can decide whether she has our confidence or not," said Ms Halvorsen.

Support for Labour drops even further (Dagbladet)

Just five days before the Labour Party opens its annual conference, Jens Stoltenberg and the rest of the party leadership are coming to terms with the results of another devastating opinion poll. According to a poll carried out by MMI on behalf of Dagbladet in the last three days of October, only 19.3 per cent of voters say they plan to vote Labour. This is a massive five percentage points less than the party’s disastrous general election result last September. The Progress Party continues to surge ahead, jumping five percentage points to 32.5 per cent. According to the poll, the Socialist Left Party is the only party apart from the Progress Party to improve its position. Support for the three ruling coalition parties continues to fall. The Christian Democratic Party scores 7.6 per cent, the lowest recorded by MMI since March 1997. The Conservatives slide 1.5 percentage points to finish on 15.5 per cent.

Norsk Hydro wants North Sea tax reform (Aftenposten/Saturday)

Tore Torvund, a senior executive with Norsk Hydro, believes the tax system applying to companies operating on the Norwegian continental shelf should be changed. He claims that it hampers research and development, and makes it difficult for new companies to enter the market. It also prevents Norwegian companies from investing abroad. Norsk Hydro and Statoil pay around 70 per cent in tax on their Norwegian offshore production activities. The companies earn more than 90 per cent of their revenues from this high-tax area. Norway imposes a 50 per cent tax on revenues from the Norwegian continental shelf in addition to the normal 28 per cent in corporate taxation – giving a marginal tax rate of 78 per cent. The major international oil companies have revenues from many countries with different tax regimes and, by comparison, pay 30-40 per cent in tax.

More opponents (Klassekampen/Saturday)

The more support the Progress Party gets in the polls, the larger grows the number of its implacable opponents. "Voters who are do not agree with the Progress Party get terribly angry when the party forges ahead," said political scientist Frank Aarebrot. Around 50 per cent of voters say they would never think of voting for Carl I. Hagen. The party has been leading the polls since the summer, and now has the backing of well over 30 per cent of the electorate – more than twice as much as the party has ever polled at a real election. "The maximum limit for how high the Progress Party can go must be screwed up a notch. When the party only promoted itself as an anti-immigration party, the ceiling was around 26-27 per cent, but now Mr Hagen is attacking the guiding principles for the Norwegian economy, I do not how high he can go," said Mr Aarebrot.

Worth Noting

• The opposition parties in the Storting are firing broadside after broadside at Defence Minister Kristin Krohn Devold. But her position is quite safe because the opposition parties do not want to see blood right now.(Dagbladet/Sunday)
• The leadership of the Storting’s Defence Committee are now intensifying the pressure on Chief of Defence Staff Gen Sigurd Frisvold following the cluster bomb scandal. Both Marit Nybakk (Lab), chairman of the Committee, and its secretary Bjørn Hernæs (Con) say that Gen Frisvold should spend the next few days considering his position. General Frisvold never passed on the order requiring political approval for the use of cluster bombs to the rest of the military organization. (Verdens Gang/Saturday)
• Jens Stoltenberg’s most faithful followers are now unsure whether he is the man who can rescue the Labour Party. Ahead of the party’s annual conference there are doubts about whether Mr Stoltenberg has what it takes. Despite the fact that he is considered far and away the best the party has at the moment, more and more are beginning to doubt whether he has what it takes to rebuild the Labour Party. (Dagbladet/Saturday)
• There has been an upsurge in international terrorism in the past year. Counter-measures are now being implemented. Police anti-terror capability is being given a major boost, with additional officers and more training in armed operations. Officers will also be specially trained as negotiators. (Dagsavisen/Saturday)
• Forget Norway as a base for labour-intensive industry and switch the emphasis to ownership, increased competence and jobs for highly educated academics. This is the main message from the Norwegian Society of Chartered Engineers.(Aftenposten)
• The Progress Party’s economic policies contain a lot of good things, but they need to be implemented over 20 years – not one, according to Øystein Dørum of DnB Markets. Chief economists are pundits and their economic models do not understand me, retorts Progress Party deputy leader Siv Jensen.(Dagens Næringsliv/Saturday)
• One in four Norwegians believes that men’s health is given a higher priority than women’s health by politicians, scientists and medical practitioners, according to a survey carried out by Norsk Gallup on behalf of the Norwegian Women’s Public Health Association. (Dagsavisen/Sunday)
• Each year more than 1,000 women suffering from breast cancer could have avoided losing a breast if our health service had had the same standard as the French or Belgian health service. Far too often Norwegian doctors choose radical surgery, among other things because they cannot offer radiotherapy. Norwegian doctors are among the worst in the world when it comes to breast conserving surgery. Only 24 per cent of those suffering from breast cancer are able to keep their breast. In Sweden the figure is 43 per cent, while in France 65 per cent keep their breast. (Aftenposten)
• According to the latest OECD report on education, Norway leads the world in the number of PCs in schools. The report reveals that there are six pupils for every PC in Norwegian schools. However, only six per cent say that they use a computer in school almost every day. (Aftenposten/Saturday)
• Those in the age group 50+ are the winners in the labour market. According to a survey by the Directorate of Labour, employees in this age group who are made redundant find a new job faster than average. (Vårt Land/Saturday)

Today’s comment from Nationen

Budget negotiations between the Progress Party and the parties making up the minority coalition government, led by Kjell Magne Bondevik, broke down last week. With that, the Government has been given the chance to reach an agreement with the Labour Party. It is an opportunity Mr Bondevik and his team should make the most of. The Government should bend as far as possible to secure a solution with the Labour Party this year. We do not recommend this because it makes tactical sense in terms of the political poker game being played out between the parties in the Storting. No, our reason is that if the Government takes a few steps to the left now, it could give the country a budget with a marginally – only marginally – softer profile. And that is something which is really needed – at local government level, in terms of welfare policies and to reduce the gap between rich and poor. It is not surprising that mayors representing both the Christian Democratic Party and Labour are now demanding that the two parties reach agreement. They know exactly where the problems lie.

Sport

Soccer Cup Final – Women:

Trondheim-Ørn 4 – 3 Arna-Bjørnar

Soccer Cup Final – Men:

Odd Grenland 0 – 1 Vålerenga