Labor wants better wine access (Norway)

Aftenposten ^ | August 25, 2005 | not specified

[franksolich]

The Labor Party believes Norway needs more Vinmonopolet--the state alcohol outlets.

"Every municipality in the country, apart from the very smallest, should have their own "pol" stores," Labor Party social policy spokesman Bjarne Håkon Hanssen told newspaper Bergens Tidende.

At the beginning of 2005 there were 195 of the state monopoly outlets, in the country's 436 municipalities.

Hanssen believes this measure would be the best way of preventing wine from being sold in grocery stores.

Deputy Health and Care Services Minister Kristin Ravnanger said that it would not be particularly profitable for Vinmonopolet to increase their number of stores, something that the monopoly itself agrees.

[franksolich]

This might sound like a stupid question, but why would one want to prevent "wine from being sold in grocery stores"?

[franksolich]

Ping for the Norway ping list.

[Rodney King]

This might sound like a stupid question, but why would one want to prevent "wine from being sold in grocery stores"?

Nanny state-ism.

[BostonianRightist]

Vinmonopolet--the state alcohol outlets. MMmmmm... Nothing goes better with government cheese than government wine.

[EagleUSA]

Welcome to Socialism....and no thanks!!!

[ncountylee]

Every liberal must be someplace.

[Gabz]

This might sound like a stupid question, but why would one want to prevent "wine from being sold in grocery stores"?

The monopoly doesn't want any competition.

[wideawake]

I would assume that when wine is sold in grocery stores it cuts into the state liquor "monopoly" market share.

I assume that employees of the state liquor company have better pay, hours and benefits than grocery store employees and unions are always looking to expand fat, taxpayer-subsidized jobs like those in the state liquor company.

I would also assume that grocery stores are open late, while state-run liquor stores close at 5.

The unions would probably argue that spur-of-the-moment alcohol purchases in the evening contribute to public drunkenness and disturbances and that if no alcohol was available for sale after 5, there would be less of a public drunkenness problem.

[oilfieldtrash]

After living in Norway for 16 years the policy wrt to alcohol distribution is you tax it very high and make it difficult to obtain in an effort to reduce alcoholism and problems associated with it.

I am against this and Norway, unlike England or France has no culture of drink and some of the lowest alcoholism rates in Europe.

[mollynme]

Not to mention some of the harshest penalties for DUI.

[kaktuskid]

Many of our states have the same monopoly...the "ABC"s and state liquor stores.

[Gabz]

And those without the state monopolies have "distributor" monopolies. (privately owned) Liquor stores are the only places you can buy any alcohol in Delaware.....the distributors have successfully kept grocery and convenience stores from selling beer and wine for decades.

[Somewhat Centrist]

This might sound like a stupid question, but why would one want to prevent "wine from being sold in grocery stores"?

---

Banning advertising and limiting visibility is supposed to be a service to recovering alcoholics, or so the argument goes. The children of drunkards are also trumpeted as beneficiaries of restrictions.

This is primarily the work of the small and aging minority of practicing christians, and their party KRF. Their popular support is in the single digits, but situated as they are in the middle of the political spectrum they do have a bit of influence. Their choice of allegiance will often tip the scales between a government of the right and a government of the left.

Perhaps this would be a good time to remind people that Norwegian politics do not mirror those of the states. In Norway the right is metropolitan, (or as close as you get in Norway) while agrarians are leftists, and christians champion social spending and nanny-state restrictions as well as privatised education.