bd i A bes LOS Irom Financial Ties
he Norwegian Labour Party, back in power again this week after its first spell in opposition for 28 years, made strong gains in the local election held September 23rd, With only a few results to come in, Labour had 46.54% of the total vote, compared with 44.14% in the last local elections in 1959, and 46.76% in the General Election two years ago.
Of the four partios which took part in the short-lived coalition Cabinet, the Conservatives end the Agrarians made small gains, while the Christian People's Party and the Liberals lost ground. The newly-formed Socialist Poople's Party (which did not participate significantly in the last local olections) just about hold its position from the last General Slection, but the mimte Comminict Party saw its vote virtually halved,
Voters turned out in almost unprecedented strongth for the elections ~ in some places the poll was above 90%, Tho last few woeks of political erisis comprehonsively covered by Norwegian radio and TV, have obviously made a strong impact on tho public. Labour voters especially seam to have beon stimulated by the throat of defoat to turn out en masse,
Yosterday's victory vindicates tho activists in the party who forcod through the defeat of Mr, Lyng's coalition Cabinet last week at its very first encounter with the Storting (Parliament). Some Labour stratagists had advocated waiting, at least until after the local elections, in order to ~ avoid making concessions to the splintar Socialist Peoplo's Party, whose two votes wore neoded to topple the Lyng Cabinet,
in fact the concessions made to the &.P.P,. wore relatively unimportant, In his policy statement during last week's Storting dsbate Mr. Ginar Gerhardsen, former Labour Prime Minister, promised . more ambitious social security programme and increasod stato activity in tho banking and credit soctors including the creation of a new State commercial bank, But no concessions were made on foreign or defence policy =— the issues on which Labour and the nevutralist 5.P.P, are most strongly divided.e.sss
The very minor nature of the changes mado will certainly irritate the Socialist People's Party.
: On Septembor 24th and 25th the third two-day strike of Italian fruit and vegetable farm workers took place, This was the third such strike in the last two months and nearly half a million workers took part. The strikers want better living and working conditions,
Near Cagliari in Sardinia, about 5,000 peasants held a doemonstrion on September 23rd in favour of agrarian reform, The demonstrators sot up road and railway blocks using their tractors to block traffic, They were brutally attacked by the police and fiftoon of thom were arrested.