Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09OSLO787
2009-12-23 12:29:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Oslo
Cable title:  

NORWAY CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER ERNA SOLBERG DISCUSSES NOBEL, ARCTIC, AFGHANISTAN WITH AMBASSADOR

Tags:  NO OXEC PGOV PREL 
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VZCZCXYZ0017
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNY #0787/01 3571229
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 231229Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY OSLO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8059
UNCLAS OSLO 000787 

SENSITIVE, SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB, S/SRAP, NEA/IPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS:PREL, OEXC, PGOV, NO
SUBJECT: NORWAY CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER ERNA SOLBERG DISCUSSES
NOBEL, ARCTIC, AFGHANISTAN WITH AMBASSADOR

REFS: OSLO 778


UNCLAS OSLO 000787

SENSITIVE, SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/NB, S/SRAP, NEA/IPA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS:PREL, OEXC, PGOV, NO
SUBJECT: NORWAY CONSERVATIVE PARTY LEADER ERNA SOLBERG DISCUSSES
NOBEL, ARCTIC, AFGHANISTAN WITH AMBASSADOR

REFS: OSLO 778



1. (SBU) Summary: Erna Solberg, leader of the Conservative
("Hoyre") Party (the second largest opposition party in Norway after
the right-wing Progress Party) told Ambassador White on December 15
that many Norwegians were favorably impressed by President Obama's
direct message in his Nobel speech, that Norway needs to be careful
in business dealings with the Russians, that the Conservative Party
and the Progress Party have difficulty presenting a united
opposition to PM Stoltenbergs Red-Green coalation because of
fundamental disagreements about immigration and spending, and that
the Conservatives believe the Norwegian armed forces are underfunded
and understaffed. End Summary

Obama's Nobel Prize
--------------


2. (U) The Ambassador made an initial courtesy call December 15 on
Erna Solberg, leader of the Conservative ("Hoyre") Party, at her
office in parliament, accompanied by poloff and pol LES. The
meeting started with a discussion about the President's visit and
the Nobel Peace Prize. Mrs. Solberg quipped playfully that the
previous week had been "Obamarama." She did not offer comment on
the appropriateness of the prize, saying that it was the Nobel
Committee's decision. She said that she thought many Norwegians
were favorably surprised by the President's direct speech. She
commented that only a few on the left had thought it was too much
about war and too little about peace.

Women in Norwegian Politics
--------------


3. (U) The Ambassador said he was impressed by the level of female
participation in Norwegian politics, and Solberg stated that the
fact that five out of seven party leaders are women shows that the
Norwegian society is egalitarian and independent.

Energy / Lofoten / The Arctic / Russia
--------------


4. (U) The Ambassador told Solberg about the energy-related trips he
has already made: with Energy Secretary Chu to the Mongstad
facility in western Norway, and with Minister of Trade and Industry
Trond Giske to view the Snohvit liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility
in Hammerfest in northern Norway. The two discussed whether or not
carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) is viable or not. They

talked about how shale gas may become an increasingly important
source of natural gas in the United States over the coming years,
that its use could have energy security implications, and that
Statoil has an installation in Maryland.


5. (SBU) The Ambassador asked Solberg if potential exploration off
the protected Lofoten-Vesteraalen coastal area could become a
game-changing political issue affecting the Red-Green coalition's
unity. Solberg responded that, for its part, Hoyre wants to open
the fields off the islands for exploration, but would like to listen
to the fisheries associations and other parties involved in terms of
the most vulnerable areas.


6. (SBU) On Arctic policy, Solberg said that the GON's High North
policy, first articulated by then Foreign Minister Jan Petersen (now
Norwegian Ambassador to Austria) had unanimous support in the
Storting. As the ice caps are melting, new areas will be opened up
for oil and gas exploration. Energy, environment, and
Norwegian-Russian relations were of most concern. She pointed out
the need to follow closely development in Russia's Shtokman field.
Furthermore, she mentioned Norwegian communications giant Telenor's
strife in Russian courts over its involvement in Russian-based
VimpelCom. The lesson learned from this is that Norway needs to be
careful when dealing with the Russians, both in business and other
matters, said Solberg.

Relations with the U.S. and the NATO Parliamentary Assembly
--------------


7. (U) Mrs. Solberg emphasized the good relations between her party
and the U.S., telling the Ambassador about her latest trip to the
U.S. in early December which included, among other things, a visit
to the National War College in Washington, D.C. She also mentioned
that she will be going to Memphis, Tennessee in March at the
invitation of the President of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly,
Congressman John Tanner (D-TN). Lightheartedly, she said that she
was looking forward to a BBQ in Graceland. (The last NATO
Parliamentary Assembly session took place in Oslo in May 2009 and
the next session will take place in Riga, Latvia from 28 May to 1
June 2010.)

Domestic Politics Issues: Cracks in the Red-Green Coalition
--------------

8. (SBU) Solberg was disappointed that the Red-Green Stoltenberg

government won reelection, but noticed that there are internal
battles within the coalition. She said that necessary financial and
budget "cutbacks will be very hard for this coalition" and that the
government will experience problems keeping the balance sheet in
order as less oil money will be available in the next few years.
She looked forward to the 2011 midterm local elections, predicting
that fundamental issues like immigration, sick leave reform and
competitiveness for Norwegian industry would be key issues. Sick
leave figures in Norway are steadily increasing to some of the worst
levels in Europe, and PM Stoltenberg has a great challenge in
alleviating this without upsetting the labor unions. Solberg said
that competitiveness of Norwegian business and industry is another
issue that will continue to worsen. There is low unemployment and
wages have increased every year since 2005. "Where is Norway's
competitive advantage?" asked Solberg. Solberg was concerned that
R&D investment and university funding are not as good as they should
be due to the current government's funding priorities.

Conservative Party vs. Progress Party
--------------


9. (SBU) The Ambassador asked about the relationship between the
Progress Party and the Conservative Party. Solberg explained that
although the working relationship is now good, there had been
"longstanding difficulties." Former Progress Party leader Carl I.
Hagen, who still works as an external advisor for the party, had as
his stated mission to completely replace the Conservatives as the
party of the right. Furthermore, she said that the Conservatives
have had to be, and must continue to be, careful in their
relationship with FRP as the Conservative Party's constituents are
divided as to whether they want to work with the Progress Party or
not. The two parties share a desire for lower taxes and a
friendliness toward private industry, but clash on two key issues:
(1) the Progressives are an "expenditure party" that wants to spend
more government (oil) money on social services, and (2) the way the
Progressives talk about immigrants is highly problematic. Some
Progressive Party politicians speak about immigrants using group
terminology, and the Progressives' nationalistic tendencies are
viewed with alarm by many Conservative Party voters. She also noted
that the Conservatives and the Progressives just had, combined,
their best election result ever, and they only received 40% of the
vote. Therefore, to be in the majority, they must cooperate with
the smaller parties in the center of the political spectrum, many of
whose voters are also highly suspicious of the Progressives, and who
might cooperate in a minority government with the Conservatives but
not a majority government with both the Conservatives and the
Progressives.

Immigration
--------------

10. (SBU) Solberg then went on to speak energetically about
immigration, explaining how Norway in the period between 1974 to
1976 had open borders, whereas today labor immigration from Eastern
Europe (Poland and Lithuania in particular) and immigrants that
enter through family reunification and asylum make up the vast
majority of new immigrants (Comment: Note that in Norway, about 50%
of all immigrants are asylees/refugees. End Comment.) She also
touched upon the issue of cheap labor from Eastern Europe, stating
that over 100,000 people had come to Norway over the last five
years, and that this has caused insecurity in the market for
low-skill and low-paid jobs, much to the labor unions' frustration.
She also touched upon the problems that first generation immigrants
have in adjusting to living within Norwegian society, and the issue
of forced/arranged marriages, which she characterized as "a big
issue."

Defense / Afghanistan / Iran
--------------


11. (SBU) The Ambassador asked about the Conservatives' view on
Afghanistan. It is the Conservatives' view, Solberg said, that
Norway needs a larger army in the long term-"at least another
brigade." Afghanistan is an example of the fact that Norwegian
troops are stretched too thin and where the government clearly
prefers providing other types of assistance. Solberg said that the
government's Afghan policy, which involves increased funding for
development and civilian assistance, is troublesome. The
government, trying to make sure that the "sacred, political" one
percent of GNP goes to Overseas Development Assistance, drives its
decision to commit funding to training the Afghan national police,
but not enough to training the Afghan army.


12. (SBU) Solberg said that Iran is not debated much in the
Norwegian public because there is no national political "clash" on
the issue; it is more an issue discussed among academics. She added
that she thought that it important to get the UN, as well as China
and Russia, on "our side" in terms of a coherent Iran policy.

Educational Exchange / Entrepreneurship
--------------

13. (U) The Ambassador aired a few ideas that could strengthen the

relations between Norway and the U.S. Bringing back funding for
Norwegian student's Freshman Year in American colleges would be one
excellent way of stimulating educational exchange. Solberg
explained the policy behind the GON withdrawal of funding for
Freshman Year study abroad, saying that it could take a while to
achieve any change since the level of education in Freshman Year did
not match the Norwegian criterion for first year of college. She
emphasized the need for more educational exchanges: "Youths today
were born after the fall of the Berlin Wall and have little or no
knowledge of recent history like the Kosovo war or even 9/11."
Thus, future generations need to be better educated. The
trans-Atlantic connection is weakened and needs to be strengthened,
she said.


14. (U) The Ambassador informed Ms. Solberg about the 2010
Presidential Entrepreneurship Summit where Norwegian minority
entrepreneurs would be invited to attend. Solberg noted that
encouraging entrepreneurship among minorities was something she had
worked on when she was a cabinet minister from 2001 to 2005.


WHITE