The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo
Press Division

Norway Daily No. 94/02

Date: 24 May 2002

Wrong for Juul to keep prize money (Aftenposten)

According to law professor Henning Jakhelin, it is wrong for Mona Juul to keep the prize money she received. In his view the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has made a serious mistake in its treatment of the Juul affair by saying, on the one hand, that the money was accepted incorrectly, and on the other, that she is allowed to keep it. "Letting Mona Juul, a Ministry employee, keep around NOK 450 000 after having received a reprimand for having received this money is ill-advised, legally speaking," said Professor Jakhelin. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will adopt new and more stringent regulations to avoid a similar situation in the future.

Vardø is up in arms (Nationen)

Almost half of the population of Vardø was present when State Secretary Morten A. Meyer arrived there yesterday, but the government representative received a rather icy welcome. He had to run the gauntlet between rows of Vardø residents who are on strike. The atmosphere in the town is very tense after several years of drastic cutbacks in the public sector. The municipal council members refuse to return to their posts until 50 new jobs are established and they are promised that Vardø Radio, Vardø Airport, the local office of fisheries and the local Civil Defence department are all kept open.

Easier to deport violent foreigners (Aftenposten)

The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Local Government and Regional Development want a sharper focus on violence within immigrant families and more stringent measures to counteract it. Yesterday a report was submitted to the two ministers suggesting that it should be easier to deport foreign nationals who commit acts of violence against women. Two of the proposals in the report are a lower threshold for what qualifies as grounds for deportation from Norway, and a greater readiness to deny entry to Norway. In response to criticism that this would amount to discrimination against foreigners, the Minister of Justice said this was not discrimination, but a question of finding appropriate measures for different groups.

Hydro sale halted (Dagsavisen)

A Storting majority opposes selling off part of the Government’s shares in Norsk Hydro. This means that the Government and Minister of Trade and Industry Ansgar Gabrielsen have suffered defeat on an issue that they had given high priority. The Progress Party decided to block the Government’s opportunity to reduce its stake in Norsk Hydro from 44 per cent to 34 per cent. Together with the Labour Party and the Socialist Left Party, Progress has secured a majority. "If the Government’s stake drops to 34 per cent, we will no longer have the opportunity of using part of this stake to form strategic alliances," said Øystein Hedstrøm (Progress), who supports a policy of maintaining government ownership in the few key industries left in Norway. "A pointless sale, like the one proposed by the Government, will only open the doors for foreign ownership, and Norway will be left with nothing more than additional funds for the petroleum fund," said Mr. Hedstrøm.

Airline employees promised jobs until next year (Dagens Næringsliv)

The threat of dismissals in Braathens is groundless. Last night the airline’s management presented a proposal that would prevent job losses both this year and next year. The package has a cost framework of between NOK 150 and 200 million. Management hopes to avoid letting people go despite the fact that nearly 1000 employees may become redundant when SAS takes over the company’s ground service.

Worth noting

• The strong Norwegian krone is stifling the competitiveness of Norwegian industry. This happened much more quickly than economists predicted a few years ago. Norway has experienced an enormous rise in costs and a corresponding deterioration in its competitive edge as a result of both the krone’s increased strength and the five per cent wage cost increase. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Despite a decline in income from advertising and sales, Schibsted was the most profitable media group in Scandinavia last year. All the same, the company’s NOK 7.9 billion turnover was down last year, and Schibsted’s place at the top is now being threatened by Orkla Media with its NOK 7.4 billion turnover. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The painting "Bridal Procession in Hardanger" is for sale. Tiedemand and Gude painted five versions of this icon of Norwegian national romanticism. The one that is now for sale is one of three that were painted in 1853. It is expected to bring in around NOK four to five million. The painting will be exhibited at Galleri Balaklava in Fredrikstad all summer. (Aftenposten)

Today's comment from Dagbladet:

Today’s wedding in Trondheim has turned the town on its head. Princess Märtha Louise and Mr. Ari Behn have obviously enjoyed themselves thus far, and both royalty and commoners have been pouring into the city for the celebration. The entire event has become one big media circus, with the famous and semi-famous seeking the limelight. But of course the bride and groom are the main attraction, and the festivities are marked by the fact that it is a princess who is tying the knot. Public funding has taken care of a portion of the bill, despite the fact that this is actually a wedding between two private citizens. Although the princess is second in the order of succession to the throne, as a concession to gender equality, it is unthinkable that it could be a future queen who is now marrying her writer boyfriend. And even though the Prime Minister and other representatives of the official sphere are present, this is not an official occasion. Princess Märtha Louise has already taken her first step outside of the royal family. She is no longer to be called "Her Royal Highness". There may be some doubt about whether it will be possible for her to separate the somewhat royal role she still has as princess from her role as an independent artist. In our view she should take advantage of this opportunity to give up the title of princess as well. This would eliminate all the ambiguities, and would make their marriage and their life in the public eye easier for them, the Royal Household, and the people of Norway.