More prison cells needed (Aftenposten)

Last year there were ten times as many offenders waiting to serve their sentences as two years ago. In the short term, the prison authorities see no other solution than to build temporary prisons. The conversion of institutional buildings designed for other purposes has been considered, but even though it would be quicker than building a new prison the costs would be extremely high. The Justice Ministry is now considering the construction of temporary buildings in the exercise yards of the country’s existing prisons.

Work harder (Dagbladet)

Are you hoping that a vote for the Conservatives will bring lower interest rates and an improvement in the family finances? Then you will have to be prepared to work harder and wait longer until you retire. You will also have to accept only moderate wage rises. "I won’t promise lower interest rates, but I can promise a number of measures to help ease the pressure on the economy," said Conservative Party spokesman Per-Kristian Foss. He also warned his political opponents not to make expensive promises. "The threat of a rise in interest rates should be a deterrent to inflated campaign promises," he said.

No more state cash for Telenor (Dagsavisen)

Telenor will not be getting the NOK 15 billion in additional state funding that the company has asked for. However, a cross-party majority in the Storting supports a further sell-off of the state’s Telenor shares. These recommendations were announced by the Storting’s business and industry committee yesterday. The Government has proposed that the state’s shareholding in Telenor be reduced from 51 per cent to 34 per cent. This proposal has won the backing of a broad majority in the Storting. Today the state owns around 77 per cent of the company, which a short while ago was 100 per cent state owned.

Centre parties divided over Telenor sell-off (Aftenposten)

The Christian Democratic Party voted yesterday to back the Government’s proposal to reduce the state’s shareholding in Telenor to 34 per cent. This decision has divided the political centre. The Christian Democrats have attached a number of strings to its support for a further sell-off of state shares in Norway’s largest telecoms company. The company’s head offices must remain in Norway, as must its mobile phone and satellite division, as well as its R&D activities, said party spokesman Jon Lilletun. The Centre Party is strongly opposed to reducing the state’s shareholding. The party believes that approval for the sell-off would imply acceptance of the notion that state ownership is a disadvantage for businesses, and that it is a disadvantage for the state to own more than 34 per cent.

Jumping for joy over public services (Dagbladet)

Norway’s much maligned public services are better than their reputation would have you believe. On the whole we are satisfied both with the services offered and their quality. We are most satisfied with local authority run nurseries and with our dentists. In fact 92 per cent of us said we were satisfied with our dentist, while renewal minister Jørgen Kosmo’s own agency, the employment offices, are at the bottom of the list with just 46 per cent of users saying they were satisfied with the level of service they received.

Storebrand’s fate casts shadow over Statoil flotation (Aftenposten)

Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen’s attempt to order the National Insurance Fund to reject the Finnish financial services company Sampo’s bid for Storebrand has cast a shadow over Statoil’s stock market flotation. "The Storebrand affair has been brought up by participants at almost every meeting we have had with investors here and in Europe. They are concerned that the Norwegian government will block decisions made by the company, even though they are supported by a majority of shareholders," said Statoil chief executive Olav Fjell.

All four equally guilty (All newspapers)

The fact that Kristin Kirkemo Haukeland and Lars Grønnerød have provided information vital to the police investigation of the Orderud case has not done them any good. Prosecuting counsel Jørn S. Maurud believes that their complicity in the triple murder means they should also receive the maximum penalty. It therefore came as no surprise to the four defendants yesterday when he argued that they should each be sentenced to 21 years in prison.

Worth Noting

• The majority of MPs are backing a proposal to change current anti-trust legislation to enable the authorities to penalize supermarket chains which sell a too narrow range of products. (Aftenposten)
• Use Oslo as a nightmare illustration of how Norway would be if the Conservatives and the Christian Democrats get into power. This recipe for how the Labour Party can win the election comes from Bjørgulv Froyn, chairman of the Labour Party’s Oslo branch. (Dagsavisen)
• Only six per cent of racist incidents lead to charges being brought. The Antiracist Centre (Norway) has accused the police of being ignorant of the legislation in this area. (Vårt Land)
• Christen Sveaas, one of Orkla’s largest shareholders, could become the company’s new chairman. Mr Sveaas himself would like to have the job, and his name has been put forward by other major shareholders. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• An increasing number of farmers are converting to organic farming methods. There are now 2,207 organic farms in Norway compared to 1,840 last year. And now it is not only the idealists who are switching to organic farming methods. (Nationen)
• Cuckoos and siskins, song thrushes and starlings will soon be back, sing Norwegian children. But where have they actually been? Catching and marking birds with a ring on the leg has shown that the travel habits of these migratory birds are more varied than scientists have previously thought. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Nationen

Labour Party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland is prepared to use every trick in the book. In his response to the Labour Party’s problems he uses rhetoric and claims which are an insult to the voters’ intelligence. Mr Jagland has made a huge fuss about the Progress Party supposedly having a tremendous influence on policy if the Conservatives and the Christian Democrats form a government after the election. The credibility of such a claim is doubtful. Of course the Labour leader is right in saying that the Progress Party would have the opportunity to influence decisions if there was a centre-right government. But the Progress Party already has that opportunity today – ably assisted by Mr Jagland’s own Labour Party. The Stoltenberg government has allied itself with the Progress Party on a number of issues. Issues which are of vital importance, not just marginal questions. The voters can see that with their own eyes, and Mr Jagland’s rhetoric cannot change the facts. All the "old" parties are more than willing to shake the Progress Party’s hand when it suits them. Of course, that is most true of the Conservatives. But a centre-right government including the Christian Democrats would have just as high a threshold with regard to the Progress Party as the Labour Party has. If Mr Jagland wants the voters to believe something else, the Stoltenberg government will have to change its policies – radically.