[croissantfever]

So, 99.7% of votes have been counted in the general election here. Labour party have the most votes, but it looks like a new prime minister from the right, Erna Solberg will be forming the new government. Just got to get through the coalition talks to find out who will be doing what. Basically, the red-green coalition have lost and the non-socialists will be forming the government. This is likely to mean less taxes and a slightly smaller state in Norway.

In bad news, Progress Party (FrP) gained 16% of votes or thereabouts. This is the party that Breivik used to belong to.

News in English....

http://www.newsinenglish.no/2013/09/09/ ... eing-erna/

[new puritan]

Have to say it's becoming a regular occurrence to see centre-left parties thrown out of office. The centre-left generally appears tired and devoid of purpose - its accommodation with neoliberalism (albeit in a more redistributive form than that preferred by parties of the right) has really left it high and dry over the last five years. What's particularly worrying is that there are no new ideas coming through as to what a distinctive 21st century social democracy might look like. Social democrat/labour parties remain in thrall to the technocrats. This is worth a listen:

http://novaramedia.com/2013/04/the-cris ... t-parties/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It isn't just the European centre-left that's troubled though - obviously we've just seen the Australian Labor Party turfed out (though it's debatable whether you can even call them centre-left now) and even the likes of the Canadian NDP are struggling.

[Timbo]

It's interesting to see this happen in Norway too, after Sweden chucked out the Socialdemokratiska Arbetareparti in 2010. The current PM, Fredrik Reinfeldt has basically been Cameron-lite. They've completely abolished inheritance tax, sold off loads of state assets, and introduced the disastrous free school programme (the Swedish one has been something even Gove could only have dreamed of).

Part of me remains hopeful that this is just the Scandinavian way of refreshing the social democratic parties after decades of unbroken power.

[croissantfever]

So, the coalition has been decided and it's a minority coalition between the Right and the Progress Party.

This sucks. Hopefully they implode, without doing too much damage, and Norway will restore sanity in 4 years time...

http://www.newsinenglish.no/2013/09/30/ ... y-support/

[new puritan]

Pity the poor Norwegians. This is the sort of shit they've just elected.

Norway's fledgling coalition government has provoked a social media backlash with the appointment of Solveig Horne as its new children and equality minister.

Ms Horne, 44, who was appointed to the post on Tuesday, has been revealed to hold ultra-conservative views on sexuality and female victims of sexual offences.

In May 2010, the Progress Party member tweeted her concern at young children being exposed to 'homoeventyr' - fairytales that make reference to the existence of 'other sexualities'.

Then in May 2011, while gender politics spokesperson for the party, she expressed the view that women are equally responsible for rape, as they are responsible for the kinds of situations they get themselves into and should give men a clear message about how far they want to go.

And in an interview in September, just before the election that brought her to power, Ms Horne said that her party would deal with transgender persons in the same way as with any other 'patients' - by directing them to the relevant health facilities.

http://news.sky.com/story/1156558/norwe ... rk-outrage" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Timbo]

News breaking now of a man hijacking a bus in Stavanger and killing three people

[croissantfever]

It was in Årdal, in Sogn and Fjordane. A man from South Sudan killed the two other passengers and the driver. Don't read the comments on the news story, they're very depressing...

[Tubby Isaacs]

Laughable attempt to make out Norway's in a bad way.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/201 ... il-wealth/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

"Pandering to those who won't work" apparently- with unemployment at 3.2%, that must be seriously expensive.

Note how the author (who has taught "for" the LSE- in some half-arsed summer school?) pretends that the sovereign wealth fund is the only external asset the country has. It's net international investment position is the best outside of the Far East.

The author's also perturbed by the fact some of the assets might be worth less now because of falling property prices. Though I wasn't aware there was any need to sell all these property assets now anyway.

I see the FT didn't mention this terrible exposure to property.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3eb80a72-ae4a ... z2ouVfMweI" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Reckon the bloke pulled it out of his arse?

[new puritan]

If Norway is to avoid being drawn inexorably into the abyss, it must fundamentally reassess its policies and learn the lessons of the global developments that have affected the world of finance and real estate since the 1960s.

Hahahaha. Because those developments have worked so well everywhere else. I think the Norwegians will probably get by, to be honest.

[youngian]

The second awkward fact Norwegians have yet to confront is that their country’s disproportionate dependence on oil hangs like an economic sword of Damocles above its head. In August, the Economist predicted that following improvements in shale-gas technologies and the development of electric cars, a significant decrease in the demand for oil is rapidly approaching.

Yeh that will happen

[Bones McCoy]

The second awkward fact Norwegians have yet to confront is that their country’s disproportionate dependence on oil hangs like an economic sword of Damocles above its head. In August, the Economist predicted that following improvements in shale-gas technologies and the development of electric cars, a significant decrease in the demand for oil is rapidly approaching.

Yeh that will happen

Presumably the electric cars will be fuelled from the battery mines of Montana - or something.

[Kreuzberger]

And they'll be shipped here using hang-gliders and the Cutty Sark.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Tour de force of bollocks, isn't it?

According to the excellent Beatonthedonis, the Norwegian Right is very keen to spend more of the oil money now. Seeing a country not spunk it all on taxcuts must really hurt the bloke who wrote this article.

Here's the terrifying public debt of Norway.

http://www.tradingeconomics.com/norway/ ... ebt-to-gdp" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

28.3% of GDP. Massive surplus last year.

[Tubby Isaacs]

And they'll be shipped here using hang-gliders and the Cutty Sark.

Or by flying unicorns on Thorium.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I reckon this chap's probably quite keen on markets.

They currently show Norway as the least likely nation in the world to default. Its default swaps, last I saw were priced at 12 points. Germany was 25. Ireland is 120.

Doomed.