A relatively minor industrial reshuffle, at least by international standards, has caused major political waves ahead of Norway’s general election on 12 September.

A mighty row has broken out following a recent decision by one of the world’s largest producer of fine quality paper, Norske Skog, to slash 380 jobs and close one of its four paper factories in Norway, even though the plant is profitable.

Each of the politicians appears desperate either to gain political currency from the affair, or at least to not come across as if they do not care about the loss of jobs.

But beyond a great deal of hand wringing, which has led some commentators to suggest they are failing to grasp the commercial arguments behind Norske Skog’s decision in the run-up to the election, the affair has simply demonstrated the politicians’ impotence in the face of Norske Skog’s decision.

Norske Skog is sticking to its guns, insisting the factory must close due to in the group’s European operations.

Necessary step

Chief executive Jan Oksum has even rejected offers of fresh financial incentives to keep the factory in Skien alive, having dismissed them as pre-election promises.

Norske Skog has also dismissed assertions by politicians across the spectrum that previously received indirect state support, such as favourably priced electricity for its factories, means it is indebted to Norwegian society and thus has a duty to safeguard jobs.

What is important, insists Mr Oksum, is to make sure Norske Skog remains a profitable company.

“The imbalance between demand and capacity in the European market is lasting,” Mr Oksum wrote in a letter published by the newspaper Aftenposten. “We must therefore find a permanent solution.

“I wouldn’t have subjected our employees and the company to this unless I was convinced that a closure of the mill is needed to strengthen Norske Skog and safeguard more than 6,000 jobs worldwide,” he insists.

Indeed, Norske Skog’s finances have weakened dramatically in recent years: Last year’s 210m Norwegian kroner earnings compared poorly with the near NKr4bn it made in 2001.

“We have a responsibility to reverse this trend, and must act before our results deteriorate further,” explains Mr Oksum, insisting that the factory closure and plans to shift some of the production to its other factories should shave NKr200m off its costs.

Media backlash

But regardless of whether or not there is solid industrial logic behind Norske Skog’s decision, its seems particularly ill timed.

Mr Oksum is refusing to sell the paper factory

Although Norway’s politicians lack formal powers to prevent the factory’s closure, their ability to whip up bad publicity has proven to be great.

Little more than one in 10 newspaper articles that have been written about the affair put the company in a good light, and most of those were published by specialist financial media, according to a survey.

Norske Skog’s insists this is because there are so many temporary workers in the newsrooms during summer, though there are clearly other reasons too.

One is the involvement of the flamboyant celebrity investors Petter Stordalen and Oystein Stray Spetalen who have thrown their hats into the ring with a NKr100m offer to acquire the doomed factory.

Their bid was immediately rejected, with Norske Skog insisting that the factory is not for sale since allowing new owners to take over would merely create a new competitor.

Critics pointed out that it was obvious that Norske Skog would reject Mr Stordalen and Mr Spetalen’s bid and some cynics have dismissed the pair’s efforts to safeguard the jobs at the factory as little more than a publicity stunt.

The investors have rejected such claims and say their plan to produce book paper rather than newsprint at the factory should ensure they would not compete with Norske Skog.

Regulatory scrutiny

Along with Mr Stordalen and Mr Spetalen, there are other, rather more discreet investors waiting in the wings.

Such investor interest has attracted the attention of Norway’s competition commission, which has vowed to look into whether Norske Skog’s refusal to sell the Skien-based factory as a going concern means it is abusing its market power.

This probe comes on top of an ongoing by Brussels into of price fixing. The investigation relates to Norske Skog and its competitors Stora Enso of Finland and Holmen of Sweden.

All the companies insist there is overcapacity in the European market and both financial analysts and investors agree.

Some analysts anticipate a shift of paper production both to Central Europe where factories can be placed closer to their customers and to South America where high quality trees can be grown very fast.

Indeed, US investment company Capital Group has raised its stake in Norske Skog to just over 10% since the row broke out in Norway, a move seen as an endorsement of the decision to shut the factory in Skien.

But in the paper industry there is more than one type of investor. About a fifth of Norske Skog’s share holders are Norwegian forestry owners who depend on the company as a customer for their wares.

Many of them are clearly deeply opposed to any plans to shift production out of the country, though there are no guarantees that even their voices will be heard.

The Bridget Jones star, 36, married Chesney, 37, on a beach in May, having met four months earlier at a benefit for tsunami victims.

In court papers Zellweger listed “fraud” as the reason for the break-up but did not elaborate.

Chesney is one of the biggest country music stars in the US.

He was named entertainer of the year at the US Academy of Country Music awards in May, with hits including Me and You and She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy.

Zellweger won a best supporting actress Oscar for Cold Mountain in 2004, and was also nominated for her roles in Chicago and Bridget Jones’s Diary.

It was the first marriage for both Zellweger and Chesney.

Marriage ‘invalid’

In US law, an annulment is a decree that a marriage was invalid from its outset.

Anyone seeking an annulment on the grounds of “fraud” must prove that their partner misrepresented some matter that was vital to the marriage.

This may include the concealment of a fact such as an existing spouse, permanent impotence or a criminal history.

If either party was under the of drugs or alcohol when the marriage took place, it may also be grounds for its annulment.

However, Zellweger’s lawyer and her Nanci Ryder declined to give any details regarding the “fraud” claim in this case.

In her court submission, Zellweger also demanded that the court rule out the possibility of spousal financial support for Chesney.

The pair first met at the Concert of Hope tsunami relief benefit in January, where Chesney was singing and Zellweger was answering .

The singer and the actress are seeking an of their marriage, with Zellweger listing “fraud” as the reason.

Chesney told Country Weekly magazine: “I’m all right. I’m good. There have been better times, but I’ll be OK.”

They married on a Caribbean beach in May, four months after meeting at a benefit for tsunami victims.

Chesney, 37, and the 36-year-old Bridget Jones star wed in a surprise ceremony on the US Virgin Island of St John, where Chesney lives.

Oscar

Chesney, one of the biggest country music stars in the US, was named entertainer of the year at the US Academy of Country Music awards in May.

Zellweger won a best actress Oscar for Cold Mountain in 2004, and was also nominated for her roles in Chicago and Bridget Jones’s Diary. It was the first marriage for both.

Chesney added: “I hit everything so hard this year.

“I had the biggest tour I’ve ever done, I had a record to finish that was real important to me, and, of course, I had something new in my personal life and I was trying to do that too.

“It really ended up being too much.”

Invalid

He added: “I’m tired right now, but by next year, I’ll be excited to get back to it. And it’ll be about the music again, not about the sideshow.”

In US law, an annulment is a decree that a marriage was invalid from its outset.

Anyone seeking an annulment on the grounds of “fraud” must prove that their partner misrepresented some matter that was vital to the marriage.

This may include the of a fact such as an existing spouse, permanent impotence or a criminal history.

In a , Zellweger said it was “legal language and not a reflection of Kenny’s character”.

Curator Karen Tuson said they could be told apart from one another because they had slightly different markings.

The seahorses had proved difficult to rear in the past, but the team now belive they have problems which had caused earlier hatchlings to die.

The zoo has had success with other species of seahorse, but short-snouts are particularly small.

“They are usually born overnight.,” Ms Tuson said. “We come in the morning and they are there in the tank.

“In the tank we were keeping them in before, we were finding dead space where the water and food wasn’t moving. The seahorses were getting trapped.”

‘Dance

The new, smaller, tanks have an air tube down the side, which keeps the water moving and breaks up the surface tension.

This means the fry are not stuck at the surface, unable to descend.

The zoo brought in five adults - four males and one female - from Ireland earlier this year. The female has mated with the same male on each occasion and staff at the site have watched the mating ritual.

Ms Tuson said: “They do a wonderful dance together. They are very active. It is usually in the mornings.

Chinese medicine

“What they will do is entwine their tails and rise up and down in the tank. Sometimes the male will go over to the female and he’ll basically almost drag her around the tank.

“He has to persevere, and she has to be ready and have eggs that are viable which she will give him.”

The zoo hopes to exchange some of its growing with fellow institutions involved in protecting seahorse populations.

At least 20 million seahorses are taken from the sea each year to meet the demands of Chinese medicine, where they are highly prized as treatment for asthma, lethargy and impotence.

Next month the zoo is hosting a national aquarium workshop, with more than 100 delegates from public aquaria .