Norway seeks greater role on international stage. On the first day of autumn, the sun shone brightly here under brilliant blue skies, highlighting the reds and golds of the leaves already changing color. A victory for Norway in the General Assembly would do a lot to brighten the mood here, although nobody can say there hasn't been any good news around here this summer. And the Norwegian economy has been booming as well.
Unemployment is minimal, in contrast to the situation in some European countries south of here.
On the other hand, some nagging problems have surfaced as well. For one thing, consumers here, as elsewhere, are irate about the high cost of gasoline. Other prices are high too, as this booming economy, like that of the US, flirts with the possibility of serious inflation. People here, as elsewhere, are fretting about high taxes. They complain about the high cost of imported goods.