Petersen slams Nato three (Aftenposten)

Foreign Minister Jan Petersen has slammed the line currently being taken by Nato allies Germany, France and Belgium, dubbing it a "very unfortunate move". Mr Petersen expressed his disagreement with the line the three countries have chosen. "All we are talking about is defensive planning, and that should have got Nato’s support. It is strange that they should choose a confrontation with the bulk of Nato’s member countries. It is quite simply incomprehensible to be making a problem out of this," he said, though he dismissed the idea of a transatlantic crisis between Europe and the USA.

Petersen: This weakens Nato (Dagbladet)

Foreign Minister Jan Petersen believes the Nato dispute is undermining the organization’s credibility, and says this is an extra problem for Norway. "The disagreement in Nato is depressing. If this continues it will undermine Nato’s credibility," he said. Norway is in a special position in this affair. Of the European Nato countries, only Norway, Turkey and Iceland are not either already members of the EU or in the process of joining.

Labour takes stand against war (Dagsavisen)

The foreign policy dispute which has plagued the Labour Party since the second world war, has flared up again in the past week. A unanimous central committee yesterday issued an official statement which largely meets the critics’ demands. "It would be wrong to initiate military action against Iraq at this time. It is now crucial that the UN weapons inspectors are given more time. Norway should work in favour of proposals which would strengthen the weapons inspectors, both by increasing the number of inspectors on the ground and providing surveillance support from the air," said Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg. The position taken by Mr Stoltenberg and the Labour Party is therefore very close to that of Jon Lilletun, leader of the Christian Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, who supports the type of peace plan that France and Germany are working for in the UN.

Call for Petersen to come down off the fence (NTB/Nationen)

Socialist Left Party leader Kristin Halvorsen is encouraged by the fact that a number of countries are standing up to the USA over Iraq. She is demanding that the Norwegian government joins them. "The world will not be a better place for Norwegian servility towards the USA. Norway can no longer wait for the Security Council to come up with a new resolution. Now is the time when the UN track is being laid, and it is now Norway’s small voice can make a contribution," she said.

No Spanish yards win contracts without state aid, claims professor (Aftenposten)

Spanish yards receive massive amounts of state aid, claims professor Tor Wergeland, an expert in shipyard finances. "As far as I can tell, the Spanish state provides as much in the way of subsidies as the Koreans do. The Spanish grant extremely long restructuring loans. When they bought up and merged privately and publicly owned shipyards to form the Izar Group, they invested an enormous amount of money," he said. The operating conditions enjoyed by Spanish yards have become a hot issue after Statoil awarded the huge Snow White contract to the Spanish yard Dragados.

Norwegians have no idea what their pensions will be (Dagsavisen)

Seven out of ten Norwegians have no idea what their pensions will be when they retire. A recent survey shows that women are less knowledgeable than men: 62 per cent of the men and 77 per cent of the women who participated in the survey said they did not know how much money they would receive as their monthly pension. The survey also shows that six out of ten Norwegians would stop working before the age of 60, assuming that they felt confident about their financial situation as a pensioner.

Keep moving and get the bill in the post (Aftenposten)

Nobody will have to stop and pay when Europe’s first unmanned toll stations open on the approach roads to Bergen and Tønsberg next year. Instead of coin boxes and manned toll booths, cars will have their number plates photographed and motorists will get the bill in the post. Today many toll stations act as frustrating bottlenecks. The Public Roads Administration wants to put an end to fiddling with loose change and tickets. However, the Data Inspectorate feels there should be an alternative solution, which ensures motorists’ untraceability. According to Data Inspectorate spokesman Ove Skåra, the right to move around freely without leaving traces behind or being registered is fundamental.

Hagen’s laurel wreath (Vårt Land)

If Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen had to rank his greatest achievements in the past 25 years, his efforts to revitalize the role of the Storting would be at the top of his list. "If I had to choose, it would be the revitalization of the Storting. When I first entered the Storting, it was a passive body that only reacted to proposals made by the Government. Now the Storting is in a completely different position," he said, looking back on 25 years as chairman of the Progress Party.

Worth Noting

• Foreign Minister Jan Petersen (Con) and Jon Lilletun, leader of the Christian Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, disagree on the Franco-German peace initiative to solve the Iraq crisis. "I think it is unfortunate for members of the Security Council to be in open dispute with each other," said Mr Petersen.
  (Dagsavisen)
• The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) is disappointed and shocked that Statoil is recommending that the Spanish yard Dragados be awarded the Snow White construction contract, instead of Aker Kværner. On Monday, the LO sent a letter to that effect to Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik.
  (NTB)
• "I am beginning to get tired of Kristin Halvorsen’s lack of respect for any other opinion than her own. She is debasing what is already a very difficult situation," said Foreign Minister Jan Petersen (Con). Kristin Halvorsen is leader of the Socialist Left Party.
  (Aftenposten)
• Norsk Hydro is worth NOK 40 billion less than it was ten months ago. The company’s chief executive Eivind Reiten says that in the long term Norsk Hydro’s low share price could affect its ability to make further acquisitions.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• While the number of working days lost through strike action is falling in the majority of OECD countries, the situation is the opposite in Norway.
  (Dagsavisen)
• Gerd-Liv Valla, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), is furious over what she calls the decimation of the Norwegian public school system. Yesterday the LO declared ‘war’ on Education Minister Kristin Clemet’s ‘hidden’ education reform.
  (Dagsavisen)
• The Government is to allocate NOK 60 million for humanitarian aid in Iraq. The money will be channelled to the Norwegian Red Cross, the Norwegian People’s Relief Association, and Care Norway’s aid operations in Iraq, and to Norway and the UN’s emergency relief efforts. "If there is military action, which I hope will not be the case, a lot more money may be required," said Vidar Helgesen, State Secretary at the Foreign Ministry.
  (NTB)
• In the course of one year the amount of vacant office space has exploded. In percentage terms, there is now as much vacant office space as during the banking crisis of the early 1990s.
  (Aftenposten)
• Statistics published by the Directorate of Public Roads tell their own amazing story. In 1980, there were just 10 roundabouts in this country. Today, 22 years later, there are ‘more than 1,000 – even as many as 1,100’. Roundabouts are popping up all over the place, but with the need for them as great as ever, more and more are certain to be built.
  (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Vårt Land and Nationen

Today Carl I. Hagen celebrates his 25th anniversary as chairman of the Progress Party. Under his leadership the party has experienced periods of deep lows, but for the most part it has been climbing steadily higher. On the whole, we are no fans of Carl I. Hagen, but he has shown an impressive ability to speak over the heads of what we like to call ‘the Establishment’ and reach out to ordinary people. At times, there is no one who can match his ability to put common sense and grass roots public opinion into words. For this reason the Storting should have seized the opportunity to elect him President of the Storting. Now it is too late. It is perfectly typical that Mr Hagen’s biggest political triumph is, arguably, the fact that the Progress Party managed to wrestle welfare policy – particularly in the areas of health and care of the elderly – away from the Labour Party. It was during the 1997 election campaign that this first became apparent. 25 years ago, welfare was the Labour Party’s exclusive political domain. During the entire post-war period the voters had believed the myth that the Norwegian welfare state was something that the political left – social democrats and socialists – had a monopoly on. But that is not the case. Historically, the welfare state is a project that sections of the political right also hold dear, particularly right-wing populist movements. At the same time, the Progress Party has turned into the party for those with least power and status in society: the outsiders who the middle classes and the pundits love to look down their noses at. The Progress Party has become the party for most folks. And as we know, they are in the majority.