HAPPY NEW YEAR !

King and PM in strong attack on bullying (Aftenposten)

In their separate New Year speeches both King Harald and Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik focused on bullying in school and media harassment, though there was no prior agreement between them to address this issue in their televised speeches. "It was quite incredible. I was dancing with joy. That the King and the PM placed such great emphasis on the problem of bullying and harassment raises the status of this issue. It is an enormous motivator for us in our further efforts," said Øyvind Finsås, chairman of the organization, Anonymous Parents of Victims of Bullying.

Stoltenberg: Bondevik’s words ring hollow (Dagbladet)

Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg has dismissed what he calls Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik’s brave words against bullying and poverty, saying that the PM’s statement rings hollow when at the same time the Government is making cuts that affect these groups. "I think it was a good speech, with many opinions and points of view that I share completely. The problem is not the speech, but the policies the Government is actually implementing," said Mr Stoltenberg. Kristin Halvorsen, leader of the Socialist Left Party, said that it may have been difficult for the victims of bullying and poverty to listen to the PM’s speech since, in their experience, little was being done to improve their situation.

Growing number of evictions (Aftenposten)

Execution and Enforcement Commissioners from around the country have reported a record number of evictions as a result of non-payment of debts. The increase is noticeable in traditionally wealthy areas such as Asker and Bærum. The number of evictions in Tromsø has doubled. In Oslo alone almost 1,000 families and single people were turned onto the street as a result of a court eviction order. Those most often affected are members of housing cooperatives or tenants renting bed-sits or rooms in privately owned houses.

Demand for lower rents (Dagsavisen)

The market is awash with rented accommodation. Fewer tenants are competing for each flat, and they are now able to take longer before making up their minds. "Here it is just a matter of saying, yippee, and haggling over the price. With more to choose between and fewer to compete against, for the first time in ten years tenants can make demands when it comes to negotiating the rent to be paid," said Lars Aasen, head of the Tenants’ Association. However, the Norwegian Houseowners’ Association believes that housing prices will rise by 4-5 per cent nationwide this year.

Conservative voters defect to Progress Party (Vårt Land)

One in five Conservative voters would have voted Progress Party if there had been an election today. Only one in ten Christian Democratic Party voters would have done the same. Labour has lost eight per cent of its voters to the Progress Party – even after last year’s election disaster. An opinion poll carried out by Intera ResearchLab on behalf of Vårt Land shows that the Government has the backing of only half as many voters as it had one year ago. The poll shows that all the parties, with the exception of the Progress Party and the Socialist Left Party, are struggling to hold on to the voters who supported them at the 2001 general election.

Clemet backs positive discrimination to get more men in schools (Dagsavisen)

According to Education Minister Kristin Clemet, encouraging more men to take teaching jobs in primary and lower secondary schools is more important from a gender equality point of view than promoting women to managerial positions. She is now calling for a mild form of positive discrimination in schools. "We need diversity. I hope that schools and school administrators also understand that need. Today, 80-90 per cent of those employed in pre-school nurseries are women, while 70-80 per cent of primary and lower secondary school teachers are women. This is a more fundamental problem than the fact that there are few women in management positions," said Ms Clemet.

Fear of job losses growing (Nationen)

Over 260,000 employees are worried that they will lose their job in 2003, according to a recent poll. This is almost twice as many as in late spring last year. Some people have jobs that really are under threat, while others are worried because of the negative reports coming out of the business sector. The Directorate of Labour expects the number of people unemployed will rise by 10,000 this year. At the end of November, unemployment in Norway stood at just less than 78,000.

Foss accused of being ineffectual (Dagens Næringsliv)

Stein Reegård, chief economist at the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), has accused Finance Minister Per-Kristian Foss of being far too feeble with regard to the Norwegian Central Bank’s implementation of monetary policy. Mr Reegård believes this is partly due to major personnel changes at the Ministry of Finance. "The combined target in the Bank’s monetary policy mandate is good. It is the Ministry’s supervision that has failed. This is partly because of the change of government and partly because of a weakening in the Ministry itself," he said. Finance Ministry Secretary General Tore Eriksen rejected the claim that the Ministry has been weakened.

Glossy magazines achieve record sales (Aftenposten)

Sales of weekly magazines are booming. And the country’s largest publishing company, Hjemmet Mortensen, is setting new records for both gross revenues and profits. "We are proud that both profits and turnover continue to grow in a difficult year for the media industry. We have never sold as many magazines as we are doing now," said chief executive Erik Amlie.

Worth Noting

• If Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik gets his way, doctors will be able to write prescriptions for personal training programmes and dietary regimens. The Government is calling these "green prescriptions".
  (Verdens Gang)
• When the Prime Minister denounced the public pillorying of individuals in his New Year speech, the tragic case of former Health Minister Tore Tønne probably sprang to many people’s minds.
  (Dagsavisen)
• The Socialist Left Party is much more popular among women than men, while the opposite is true for the Progress Party. 21.5 per cent of women say they will vote for the Socialist Left Party, while only 9.9 per cent of men say the same. The Labour Party is more or less equally popular among both sexes.
  (Vårt Land)
• Rune Brynhildsen, chief executive of the radio station P4, has received no support from his former colleagues in the PR industry, who have slammed the radio station’s malicious advertising campaign against Cultural Affairs Minister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland. "Whining", "bad loser" and "immature" are among the epithets used to describe the ad campaign P4 has been running after losing its broadcasting licence.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Less than half of Norway’s industrial companies are planning to enter new markets in the next couple of years, according to a recent survey. At the same time, the future of Norwegian industry is dependent on exports.
  (Nationen)
• In April, for the first time ever, we will get an insight into what the royal family spends its millions on. Running costs, redecoration, major events, travel expenses – everything is to be published in this historic annual report.
  (Dagsavisen)
• On 31 May the moon will cover over 90 per cent of the sun. The eclipse will start at sunrise. A second heavenly rarity this year is that on 27 august Mars will be closer to the earth than it has been for 73,000 years!
  (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Vårt Land and Aftenposten

His Majesty, King Harald spoke of it. Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik spoke of it. Bullying is going to be – stamped on. It is the only sensible way of addressing the problem. This cowardly evil, which daily affects 45,000 children, cannot be ignored. It is folly to believe that it is harmless or will disappear by itself. That two of the country’s most important leaders choose to take the problem of bullying so seriously is uplifting. We agree with Mr Bondevik that we should all try to show more respect and concern for each other – not least in the way people are referred to in the public domain. But we would have liked the PM at the same time to underline the necessity of maintaining a critical watch on developments in society so that actions which those in power wish to conceal can be brought to light. If this kind of critical social debate is lacking we will not, in the long term, be able to maintain the mutual respect on which this year’s New Year speeches so rightly focused.