70% of Norwegians don't trust the Government Pension Fund

According to a survey conducted by the Norwegian newspaper Dagens Næringsliv, only three out of ten Norwegians have faith in the Government Pension Fund's management of the country's large petroleum revenues.

45% of Norwegians believe there will be no money left for the future.

The survey was conducted following revelations that the Pension Fund had lost an incredible 633 billion Norwegian Kroner in 2008. In comparison, the size of the Norwegian National Budget is 800 billion Norwegian Kroner.

The Pension Fund has also come under heavy criticism for its decision to invest heavily in Lehman Brothers only days before the company collapsed. Prominent Norwegian investor, Øystein Stray Spetalen, has called it "the biggest ever financial catastrophe".

The Progress Party Spokesperson on Finance, Ulf Leirstein, says he is not surprised by the results of the survey. "This illustrates the huge gap between politicians and the people in the question on how to best manage our petroleum revenues", says Leirstein.

The Progress Party has for a very long time proposed investing more of the petroleum revenues at home, in areas such as infrastructure, education and research and development. The Government and the majority in Parliament on the other hand, have insisted on investing the revenues in equities and bonds abroad.

 “It concerns me when 70% of Norwegians don’t trust the Government Pension Fund”, says Leirstein. “It is a clear indication that changes have to be made.”

“First of all, the Central Bank should not be in charge of the Government Pension Fund. The Bank has too much on its plate already and should concentrate on other things. Secondly, the risk profile must be changed and more money should be invested domestically”, concludes Leirstein.