Views and News from Norway

NEWS ANALYSIS: Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre had to replace more of his ministers this week, after yet another one let him down. He clearly hopes his new line-up can remain intact until next year’s national election, which he also still hopes to win. Støre was widely regarded as a brilliant foreign minister when […]

Norway’s 87-year-old King Harald V will be back at work on Monday, reports the Royal Palace staff in Oslo. He’s been off on sick leave after an ill-fated birthday holiday trip to Malaysia in February. Most would have retired long ago, but the popular Norwegian king is committed to carrying on what he calls a […]

The value of Norway’s historically weak krone sank again heading into the weekend, but Norwegians have at least been assured of legally being able to spend their kroner in cash form. Despite the government’s constant push towards digitalization, it’s strengthening state law giving consumers the right to pay for goods and services in cash. “We […]

A new overview of foreign aid contributions from countries attached to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) places Norway at the top. It confirms how Norway still aims to share its wealth, especially when there’s a war on the European continent. News bureau NTB reports that Norway committed 1.09 percent of its gross […]

NEWS ANALYSIS: Norway should have avoided noisy demonstrations by angry farmers like those seen around Europe this spring, since one of the country’s most farmer-friendly parties shares government power. Sloppy politics and endless demands by farmers already wallowing in subsidy led, however, to more messy protests in Oslo on Thursday, even before annual funding negotiations […]

Train passengers faced delays nationwide on Tuesday, after all lines were suddenly brought to a halt in Eastern-, Southern- and Western Norway. Officials initially blamed a signal error, then a major power failure, and it was all another example of how unreliable train travel in Norway can be. It was a beautiful day over most […]

It’s taken a lot of intense marathon negotiations, but representatives for both labour unions and employers have been able to shake hands over a series of wage and benefit settlements so far this spring. Construction workers, hotel workers and restaurant employees are among those averting strikes. The settlements follow an important agreement between industrial workers […]

Anders Besseberg, the Norwegian sports bureaucrat who headed the International Biathlon Union (IBU) for 25 years, has fallen victim to the expensive watches, prostitutes and hunting trips he accepted from foreign officials, mostly Russian. A court in Norway ruled Friday that it all amounted to serious corruption, and both fined and sentenced him to prison. […]

Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre had to demand the resignation of yet another member of his government on Friday, after Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol of his own Labour Party was formally accused of willfully cheating on her master’s thesis three years ago. She’s the latest government minister to get into trouble, and the most defiant. […]

The young new leader of the Norwegian Nobel Committee isn’t the only fresh face behind the Oslo-based process of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize. Jørgen Watne Frydnes has another new colleague on the committee and now its five members also need to find a new director for the Norwegian Nobel Institute that administers the prize. The […]