Red and blue lights were blinking again during the weekend over the fate of Prime Minister Erna Solberg’s non-socialist government. As of Monday morning, Solberg still hadn’t managed to win agreement to finally form an expanded conservative coalition that finally would give it a majority in Parliament. There have been few leaks from the government […]
Wolf debate ‘blown out of proportion’
January 12, 2019
It was the wildlife preservationists’ turn on Saturday to demonstrate by the thousands in favour of protecting Norway’s roughly 60 surviving wolves. As their demonstrations to halt a highly controversial wolf hunt took place in towns and cities around the country, researchers claim the debate over wolves in Norway has become unreasonably bitter and is […]
NATO’s Stoltenberg scolds homeland
January 11, 2019
Jens Stoltenberg addressed the annual conference hosted by Norway’s employers’ organization NHO many times when he held government power in the country. This week he was back in his role as secretary general of NATO, and he wasn’t at all pleased with his homeland’s defense spending. His address to Norway’s business leaders, top politicians and […]
Alarms ring around government talks
January 9, 2019
NEWS ANALYSIS: They were all smiles just a week ago, when the leaders of Norway’s four non-socialist parties launched talks in earnest to form an expanded government coalition. Now alarms are ringing over some deep disagreements among them, just as the left-center opposition parties in Parliament claim another majority in the latest public opinion polls. […]
Permission granted to shoot another wolf
January 8, 2019
State authorities have given hunters in Norway’s northernmost county of Finnmark permission to shoot and kill a third wolf this winter. They claim there’s an unusual number of wolves in Finnmark at present, and they’re blamed for attacking more than 60 reindeer and free-grazing sheep last year. Newspaper Sør-Varanger avis reported Tuesday that hunters can […]
MPs face stricter rules for travel
January 8, 2019
Norway’s Parliament has imposed stricter accounting rules on MPs claiming travel expenses, just before another Progress Party politician was found to have submitted questionable compensation claims. The new rules require more documentation, but it’s still up to the politicians themselves to decide whether a trip and its costs can be justified. Helge André Njåstad, a […]
Anti-wolf activists howl in Oslo again
January 8, 2019
Killing two more wolves on New Year’s Day wasn’t enough to satisfy those who view the predator as a threat to their livestock or safety in the great outdoors. Nor is the fact that more wolves are being shot than ever before. Anti-wolf activists, mostly farmers and residents of rural areas, marched through Oslo again […]
Scandal-plagued building opens
January 7, 2019
Members of the Norwegian Parliament have now received new office- and meeting-room space, along with an expanded garage and post terminal, but at a very high price. Huge budget overruns and construction delays cost the politicians no small degree of voter confidence, but the new president of the Parliament hopes the damage can be repaired. […]
Sami president hails cultural pride
January 4, 2019
Norway’s Sami population faces another important year ahead, claimed the president of Sametinget (The Sami Parliament), Aili Keskitalo, in her traditional New Year’s address this week. She led off her speech by hailing a 96-year-old woman for bravely shaking off years of Norwegian indoctrination, and reviving her Sami heritage after 70 years of suppressing it. […]
Solberg takes off for India
January 4, 2019
Prime Minister Erna Solberg will be taking a break from negotiations to expand her government this weekend, when she flies off on an official visit to India. The visit was planned long before the Christian Democrats finally decided to consider joining Solberg’s non-socialist government coalition. The visit is scheduled over two days, January 7 and […]
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