JAGLAND SQUELCHES OPPOSITION (Aftenposten)

Anybody who on the opening day of Labour’s national party conference had been expecting the Labour Party chairman to be willing and prepared to compromise will have been utterly deflated by Thorbjørn Jagland’s opening address. Many people have tried to predict the strategy the Labour leaders would follow to get their point across. Everything Mr. Jagland said indicates that he and the rest of the party leadership intend to get the conference participants to support their views on all the controversial issues. And that will be the end of the discussion.

INCREASED PRESSURE TO ACCEPT STATOIL PRIVATIZATION (Dagsavisen)

Labour Party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland opened Labour’s national party conference yesterday by claiming that a loss of government power, fewer jobs in outlying districts and a deteriorating health care system could be the consequences if party members do not support the policies advocated by party leaders. Supporters and opponents alike are conducting a pitched battle to gain votes on the Statoil issue. Over 50 delegates are still undecided, and both sides believe they will win.

PREPARING FOR EU BATTLE (Klassekampen)

Labour opponents of EU membership expect to lose the fight at the national party conference. Now they are preparing for the battle of opinion. "It would be unwise to open up for a new EU conflict now," says MP Gunn Karin Gjul. She does not realize that the EU has changed dramatically since the last membership campaign in 1994.

BANKS ARE MILKING CUSTOMERS (Verdens Gang)

The banks are milking borrowers of millions of kroner by interpreting the new financial agreements legislation in their own favour. According to the Act, banks are required to give borrowers six weeks’ written notice before raising interest rates, but they appear to be raising their rates from two to four weeks before the time limit has expired.

WORST STUDENT LOAN SYSTEM IN SCANDINAVIA (Dagsavisen)

Norway has the worst educational financing system in Scandinavia. Our neighbours enjoy either far larger stipends or more favourable terms for repayment of loans. And the gap is getting wider. For the past few years politicians have been waiting for reforms in this area, and have therefore not made any attempt to improve the situation. Minister of Education, Research and Church Affairs Trond Giske will, at last, submit a proposal for improvements in student financing to the Storting this spring.

TELENOR SHARES TO BE SOLD MORE CHEAPLY (Verdens Gang)

Tormod Hermansen and Telenor will be entering the Oslo Stock Exchange shaved to the skin. In order to attract investors, shares amounting to only NOK 75 to 97 billion will be offered, which internal sources at Telenor regard as far less than the company’s true value. Only a week ago the company was planning to sell shares for over NOK 100 billion.

MYSTERY OWNER MAY BE REVEALED (Dagens Næringsliv)

Orkla can demand to be told the identity of the mysterious shares purchaser whenever it wants. According to the Companies Act, companies have the right to know who is behind what are called nominee accounts. As of yesterday, neither Orkla’s chairman nor senior management were aware that the shares were placed in an account of this type.

WORTH NOTING

• Budget negotiations between Labour and the centrist parties are heading towards a complete collapse today. The centrist parties expect Labour to meet all their demands today, amounting to billions of kroner. If they do not, there is every indication that the centrist parties will break off negotiations. ( Verdens Gang)
• Labour Party secretary Solveig Torsvik was offered a ministerial post in the new Labour Government that took over in March. But she was not interested in leaving her position as a member of the Labour Party leadership team. ( Verdens Gang)
• Sven Arild Andersen, director of the Oslo Stock Exchange, does not believe Orkla director Halvor Stenstadvold’s assurances that senior management at Orkla knows nothing at all about the unexplained purchase of Orkla shares. ( Aftenposten)
• Telenor CEO Tormod Hermansen has expressed his displeasure at the many information blunders being made as Telenor’s introduction to the stock market approaches. As recently as yesterday the head of company communications was criticized by the disgruntled CEO. ( Dagens Næringsliv)
• Jan Balstad, deputy chairman of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, fully supports Jens P. Heyerdahl and Orkla’s senior management in the bitter power struggle for control of the industrial giant. He has accused Christen Sveaas and Stein Erik Hagen of wanting to undermine Mr. Heyerdahl. ( Aftenposten)
• Preliminary figures from October indicate that cross-border shopping in the Strømstad area increased by 45 per cent over the same period in 1999. ( Dagsavisen)
• It has never been as continuously wet in Oslo for a 30-day period than as in the past 30 days. On Wednesday morning precipitation for the 30 preceding days reached 235.1 millimetres. This is almost three times the normal amount. ( NTB)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Vårt Land:

Thorbjørn Jagland knew that the stakes were high when he took centre stage at Labour’s nation party conference yesterday. Today he can heave a sigh of relief. He managed to contribute to a favourable conclusion of the conference. Although it is important to gain acceptance at the conference for privatization of Statoil, the transfer of hospital administration and a renewed EU debate, this not why Mr. Jagland called this conference the most significant one of his time. The party conference is primarily a means of restoring the Labour Party’s belief in itself and its mission in Norwegian politics, and reassuring its members that their leadership is equal to the task. It is easy to agree with Mr. Jagland that this conference is one of the most important in the party’s history. However, it is difficult to understand his assertion that the party platform they will adopt is one of the most important documents in Norwegian politics. It will probably be a milestone in the history of the Labour Party. But this is, to a certain extent, due to the fact that Labour is now endorsing some viewpoints that were, until recently, the exclusive domain of the political right. Nothing new is added to the Norwegian public debate through this party platform. What is new, however, is that the Labour Party endorses these viewpoints.

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