Bondevik wins by a knock-out (Dagbladet)

It took the Progress Party’s all-powerful chairman, Carl I. Hagen, just 20 minutes to lay Jan Petersen’s political future in ruins. Mr Petersen was forced to abandon the formation of a purely Conservative government and the office of prime minister, and go cap in hand to the Christian Democrats to plead for the resumption of negotiations. When Carl I. Hagen yesterday scuppered Jan Petersen’s efforts to form a purely Conservative government, he also helped Kjell Magne Bondevik to a knock-out victory in the slugging match over who should become the next prime minister. Mr Petersen was trapped in the Christian Democrats’ intricate power game. Per-Kristian Foss has now emerged as the most important Conservative player and strengthens his own chances of taking over as Conservative Party leader.

Bondevik hesitant about taking over (Aftenposten)

The centre parties have agreed to resume talks after the Conservative party’s historic about face yesterday, but are still hesitating to engage in another round of real negotiations. And Kjell Magne Bondevik does not seem particularly keen to take on the job of prime minister either. "I am not ready, given the way things look at the moment," said Mr Bondevik. The Liberal leadership has also indicated it will need some convincing before it is prepared to try again.

Christian Democrats demand new sacrifices from the Conservatives (Dagsavisen)

The Christian Democrats won the battle over who will become prime minister. The centre parties also look quite close to a victory over the gas-fired power station issue, according to top secret documents detailing the discussions between the Conservatives, Christian Democrats and Liberals. But this is not enough for Kjell Magne Bondevik. He is also demanding that Jan Petersen give way over regional policy. The Conservatives have indicated they are willing to back down in several important policy areas.

People’s voice: Come to an agreement and form a government (Nationen)

Jan Petersen, Kjell Magne Bondevik and Lars Sponheim are being given a clear message by the people: Stop messing about, come to an agreement and let us have a new government. A Conservative/Christian Democrat/Liberal coalition has become Norway’s most popular government alternative following an upsurge in support, according to a survey carried out by Sentio-Norsk Statistikk on behalf of Nationen.

Christian Democrats demand rethink on tax (Vårt Land)

The Christian Democratic Party is not satisfied with taking the job of prime minister off the Conservatives. Powerful forces within the party’s parliamentary group do not accept that the Christian Democratic leadership has given the Conservatives NOK 31 billion in tax cuts. Yesterday’s about turn by Jan Petersen could therefore cost the Conservative party even more. It came as a surprise to several of the Christian Democrats’ parliamentary group that the negotiators had gone as far as they had – stretching to NOK 31 billion over four years.

Conservatives laid a trap for Bondevik (Dagsavisen)

The Conservatives believe the breakdown in negotiations will force the Christian Democrats into further concessions. Yesterday the Conservatives’ negotiating strategy with regard to the Christian Democrats and the Liberals appeared to be clumsy, arrogant and unstructured. Most observers felt it was absurd and unwise of the Conservatives to accept a breakdown in the negotiations which are crucial for the party’s political future. But Conservative strategists have given Dagsavisen a quite different interpretation of events. According to them, there was a clear tactical motive behind the breakdown. The Conservatives plan to use the Christian Democrat and Liberal walkout to press Kjell Magne Bondevik to further negotiations.

Conservatives squeezed over regional and environmental policy (Dagens Næringsliv)

The Christian Democrats and the Liberals are not content with getting Kjell Magne Bondevik the job of prime minister, they are also demanding concessions from the Conservatives over regional, agricultural, fisheries and environmental policy before they will resume negotiations to form a new government. The Conservatives yesterday tried to restart negotiations with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals after these two parties walked out of talks on Tuesday evening. "I know full well that I have disappointed a large number of people. But we must move forward. I hope that our opposite numbers appreciate that we are making a contribution that really hurts," said Mr Petersen.

Faith in Bondevik (NTB)

"I am assuming that the Christian Democrats, Conservatives and Liberals will succeed at the second attempt," said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. He has confirmed that there will be a change of government if the three parties reach agreement. However, he was unwilling to speculate on what would happen if their negotiations break down once more. "In that case we would have a new situation, and I do not want to speculate on that now," said Mr Stoltenberg at a meeting of the Oslo Newspaper Editors’ Association.

My worst investment (Dagbladet)

"Kværner is the worst investment I have ever made, and the one I have been most criticized for! The fact that I have lost money is something I must accept. The disastrous thing is that Kværner has lost several years’ revenues," exclaimed Kjell Inge Røkke forcefully in an interview with Dagbladet. The billionaire investor and Kværner’s largest shareholder chose the day when the corporation was pulled back from the brink of bankruptcy to make a ferocious attack on Kværner’s top management. "First we are denied any influence. Then we are blamed for not saving the company," thundered Mr Røkke. "Don’t focus on me. It is Kværner’s management who have run the company into the ground. I feel sorry for the employees, who through no fault of their own have ended up in such a mess," he added.

Worth Noting

• SAS is shedding up to 1,100 jobs and cutting the number of flights. Among the flights being dropped is the direct route between Oslo and New York. SAS is also raising its ticket fares by five per cent to secure the company’s financial position. Even though SAS is cutting back less than many of its competitors, the airline has nevertheless been hard hit. The company had originally planned to increase its workforce by 5,000 in the years to 2006. (Aftenposten)

• According to a report from the so-called Power and Democracy Inquiry, Norway’s power elite is completely uninterested in Norwegian self-determination, and stands solidly behind the call for Norway to cede more of its sovereignty to Nato, the EU and the EEA. 71 per cent of the elite would have voted in favour of EU membership. The Power and Democracy Inquiry has carried out a survey of Norwegian leaders’ attitudes to important social issues. The response rate was as high as 87.3 per cent. (Klassekampen)
• The typical Norwegian leader is a middle-aged man from an upper class background. He is concerned about politics becoming more populist and about the power of the media, but does not fear the influence of the EU or Nato, or of transnational corporations. "The class divide has not been abolished in this section of society," said Øyvind Østerud, who headed the Power and Democracy Inquiry’s research work. (Dagsavisen)
• Between 50,000 and 60,000 new holiday homes will be built in Norway’s mountain regions over the next few years – a building bonanza which so far exceeds anything we have seen to date. This is a cause for concern, according to the Directorate for Nature Management, which fears ‘massive pressure’ on the environment. (Aftenposten)
• Police fear a new round of death threats after TV2 yesterday showed the documentary programme, ‘The Wolf Hunters’. The Foreign Ministry expects strong international reactions when the programme is shown abroad. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Vårt Land, Dagbladet, Aftenposten, Dagsavisen

Carl I. Hagen did the Conservatives a good turn when he refused to back a purely Conservative government. He gave Jan Petersen the fig-leaf he needed to go back to his own parliamentary group and propose the resumption of negotiations with the political centre. It was obviously a golden opportunity for Mr Hagen to take on the role of elder statesman. But he has also shown that he still has a sensitive political nose. A government without foundation in the Storting’s majority has no chance of surviving as a worthwhile enterprise. (Vårt Land) A lot of negative things can be said about the lack of political leadership which Jan Petersen has demonstrated over the past few days. Such criticism is deserved, and will probably come most powerfully from inside the Conservative Party itself. Playing poker when you are sitting in a house of cards is a dangerous game, especially with Kjell Magne Bondevik sitting on the other side of the table. It is even worse when Carl I. Hagen can muscle in to deal the final hand. Jan Petersen and his negotiating team failed the test. The Conservative Party is now deeply humiliated, and the whole country is left shaking its head. (Dagbladet) After an intermezzo in which the Conservative leadership left a trail of justifiable doubts about the seriousness of the party’s own government alternative, efforts to give the country a government that most closely matches the voters’ wishes may be back on track. We fully understand that Kjell Magne Bondevik is cautious in his reaction to the Conservatives’ about face following Jan Petersen’s meeting yesterday with Carl I. Hagen and his own executive committee. Mr Bondevik also needs to underline that his new status as joint prime ministerial candidate for all three parties is not enough to solve all the problems on the table. (Aftenposten) Jan Petersen seems to have forgotten his own party’s history when he signalled the formation of a purely Conservative government. The Conservatives’ path to office has always, and will always, be paved by the formation of a broad centre-right coalition. After a decade in which the centre parties have built up a considerable sense of self-confidence, it has become much more difficult to secure such a partnership. For this reason it was expected that the Conservatives would make significant concessions to build up a lasting alliance with the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. Instead their negotiating partners were left talking about arrogance, suspicion and lack of understanding. (Dagsavisen)