Four years of efforts for the common good

“Our political balance sheet shows that the three-party majority government has pursued a policy aimed at promoting work and welfare. We have sought to secure the Norwegian economy and employment in all parts of the country. Instead of privatising, we are strengthening public solutions. We are spending big money on education and care services, rather than on tax cuts,” said Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg in connection with the three coalition party leaders’ review of nearly four years of cooperation.

The majority government's political balance sheet (in norwegian)

Webcast of the press conference

Photos from the press conference on Flickr

Minister of Finance Kristin Halvorsen added, “Sound economic management gives us sufficient room for manoeuvre to adopt forceful counter-measures against the international financial crisis. We are doing everything we can to safeguard jobs and stimulate the creation of new employment opportunities where old workplaces are disappearing. We are spending big money on the big tasks. We have set ourselves high goals, and we are reaching them. The fact that we have reached our goal of providing full day-care coverage illustrates this.”

For nearly four years, the three-party majority government has pursued policies aimed at changing and renewing Norway. Collective solutions provide many people with opportunities they would otherwise not have had. In area after area the government has reached the goals it set itself in 2005.

Minister of Transport and Communications Liv Signe Navarsete said, “The government took effective action early by implementing a number of measures to keep the wheels of the economy turning. We have generated activity, for example by launching maintenance work at municipal level. Schools and nursing homes are being renovated, roads are being repaired, and we are getting people into work. Our aim has been to create growth and development in all parts of the country, give people better welfare services where they live and modernise roads and railways.”

Liv Signe Navarsete, Jens Stoltenberg and Kristin Halvorsen. Photo: Berit Roald/Scanpix.

The three party leaders provided many examples of areas where the government has achieved clear results in the course of the past four years:

• We have launched the most aggressive measures in over 30 years in response to the international economic downturn. Our aim is to emerge from the crisis with the lowest unemployment figures in Europe.
• Never before have so many children been offered day-care services. The goal of full day-care coverage will be reached. More than 48 000 new full-time day-care places have been created, and more than 38 000 additional children have been offered a place in a day-care centre since 2005. We have proposed measures to strengthen the role of day-care centres as educational and inclusive social arenas.
• We have given priority to enhancing the quality of our schools. The Knowledge Promotion Reform has been implemented at all levels since the autumn of 2008. The government increased the number of teaching hours in the core subjects Norwegian, mathematics and English by five hours in primary schools in the autumn of 2008, and an additional two hours for physical activities will be added in the autumn of 2009. Free fruit and vegetables have been provided in lower secondary schools, and by the autumn of 2009, teaching material will be free at all levels of upper secondary education. More teachers at the primary level will mean that the teaching of reading skills and mathematics will be enhanced. We have improved teacher training and further and continuing education for teachers, and have also sought to boost recruitment.
• The government has successfully introduced a differentiated employers’ contribution, which means that the public and private sectors save about NOK 10 billion annually.
• Never before have so many people been treated at hospitals. In 2007, 50 000 more patients were treated than in 2005. We have improved the financial situation of the hospitals and proposed a reform to improve coordination between the different actors in the health sector. The aim of the reform is to focus more on prevention and to ensure that municipalities and hospitals have an incentive to cooperate.
• About NOK 32 billion has been allocated to Norwegian municipalities to enable them to provide better care for the elderly and education.
• Never before have so many people been employed in the care sector. According to Statistics Norway’s figures, the number of person-years increased by 12 400 between 2004 and 2008.
• The minimum pension is being raised considerably, and will reach 2 G (i.e. twice the National Insurance basic amount) in 2010.
• Investment in roads and railways has been greater than in many decades. The government has spent NOK 15 billion more on roads and railways than the previous government had planned to use in the same period.
• We have defended workers’ rights and put a halt to the erosion of the Working Environment Act.
• The agricultural agreements concluded in the past four years have increased incomes in the agricultural sector (by about NOK 73 000 per person-year).
• We have secured public ownership of waterfalls and hydropower resources in perpetuity.
• The government’s cultural promotion programme has given a boost to cultural activities and voluntary work in all parts of the country.
• In the 2010 government budget we will introduce a VAT compensation scheme for NGOs. Funding for VAT compensation will be increased by NOK 1 billion in the period leading up to 2014.
• We have strengthened efforts to ensure sustainable use and conserve biodiversity through the adoption of a new Act on the protection of the natural environment, landscape and biological diversity. The new Act will help us to manage the natural environment in such a way that present and future generations will be ensured the opportunity to enjoy it.
• Norway has adopted a highly ambitious climate policy. We have taken the lead and have made the commitment that Norway is to be climate neutral by 2030, and we are also exceeding our Kyoto commitments. In addition, we are providing extensive support for rain forest preservation, investing in carbon capture and storage and increasing our allocations for renewable energy.
• We have reached our goal of giving 1% of Norway’s gross national income to the world’s poor. Since 2005 we have increased our development assistance by NOK 9.6 billion.
• In the past four-year period we have increased allocations for our High North efforts by nearly NOK 1 billion, and we have presented the document New Building Blocks in the North to bolster our High North Strategy. 

Although the government’s review of its four years in office shows that a great deal has been achieved, the party leaders stress that the three-party majority government should win the election on the basis of what it plans to do during the next four years.

“This government set itself high goals when it drew up its policy platform at Soria Moria in 2005. We have achieved a lot, and are proud of our results. But there is still much that needs to be done. We want to achieve more,” the three party leaders said.

According to the party leaders, there are particularly four areas that stand out:

• Further efforts will be made to ensure work for all and to combat the effects of the international economic crisis. The aim is to create and maintain jobs in all parts of the country.
• Welfare services will be further developed to improve the quality of hospitals and municipal health services, provide better care services for the elderly and improve education.
• The road and railway networks will be further developed.
• Norway will continue to work actively to ensure that international climate efforts lead to new commitments.