Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06VIENNA2774
2006-09-18 11:54:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Vienna
Cable title:  

AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 18, 2006

Tags:  KPAO AU OPRC 
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Dayna R Robison 09/20/2006 11:02:30 AM From DB/Inbox: Dayna R Robison

Cable 
Text: 
UNCLAS VIENNA 02774

SIPDIS
CXVIENNA:
 ACTION: PAO
 INFO: REVIEW DCM AMB DAO POLEC

DISSEMINATION: PAO
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: PAO: WWANLUND
DRAFTED: VBARTL
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCVII360
PP RUEHC RUEKJCS RHEHAAA
DE RUEHVI #2774/01 2611154
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181154Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4972
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 002774 

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, INR/EU, AND EUR/PPD FOR YVETTE SAINT-ANDRE

OSD FOR COMMANDER CHAFFEE

WHITEHOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO AU OPRC

SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 18, 2006


Bawag Scandal Causes Campaign Turbulence

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 002774

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, INR/EU, AND EUR/PPD FOR YVETTE SAINT-ANDRE

OSD FOR COMMANDER CHAFFEE

WHITEHOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO AU OPRC

SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 18, 2006


Bawag Scandal Causes Campaign Turbulence


1. The Bawag scandal added yet another layer of intrigue when it was
revealed that former OeVP boss Josef Taus visited former Bawag boss
Helmut Elsner shortly before he was arrested at his estate in
France. The opposition is demanding more details about the nature of
the visit; Taus says his meeting with Elsner was private and
unrelated to business.
Former OeVP boss Taus has known Elsner for decades and also has
maintained private business connections with him, writes mass
circulation tabloid "Neue Kronenzeitung." Taus denied he helped
Elsner out with cash. For the SPOe, the Taus-Elsner meeting was
certainly a campaign gift, but is was likewise sharply criticized by
FPOe and Greens. The Greens noted that the OeVP twice rejected calls
to have Taus interrogated by the Bawag investigation committee, and
said that this fact "takes on new significance after the Taus-Elsner
meeting."

Sharp SPOe Attacks on Public Prosecutor


2. The SPOe sees a conspiracy between the OeVP and the public
prosecutor investigating the Bawag affair. The party charges he gave
details concerning contributions to the SPOe made by Wolfgang
Flttl, one of the main suspects in the Bawag scandal. The SPOe
maintains this is a pending investigation of which no details ought
to have been made public.
Centrist daily "Die Presse" reports that SPOe spokesman Josef Cap
spoke in this connection of a "justice scandal" - the public
prosecutor was letting himself be manipulated by the OeVP, he said.
Minister of Justice Karin Gastinger has rejected the charges. In a
letter to Federal President Heinz Fischer, she called on him for
support in "Maintaining the trust of the Austrian population in the
Austrian constitutional state." However, according to mass
circulation daily "Kurier," the Federal President has declined the
attempt to drag him into the election campaign and his spokesman
indirectly agreed with the SPOe criticism.

Schuessel Demands Consensus on Town Sign Issue


3. At the 120th anniversary celebration of the Carinthian Farmers'
Association, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel demanded that
Carinthian Governor Joerg Haider follow the general consensus on
town signs after the national elections. Schuessel also predicted

the elections will be about more than political programs - they
will be about "personalities, who has the better ideas and concepts,
and political style."


On the Brink of Civil War


4. Gudrun Harrer, foreign policy editor for independent daily "Der
Standard" acted as Special Envoy of the Austrian EU presidency and
Charge d'Affaires of the Austrian embassy in Baghdad during the
first half of 2006. Her report concludes that, more than three years
after the American invasion, Iraq has still not reached the turning
point - inter-religious violence still prevails.
The situation has gotten worse - that is the tenor of Gudrun
Harrer's Iraq report. What has taken place is a shift in focus: The
center of violence has moved away from the so-called insurgency
toward inter-religious violence. In the wake of this development,
Baghdad, the large Sunni-Shiite center, has become the battlefield
where groups kill members of other groups. It's Iraqis against
Iraqis now - the attacks on the Shiite mosque in Samarra in February
was the turning point which led from a submerged to an open
conflict. The political process, which took place under US pressure,
has in a way made things worse, since it alienated the Shiites, who
suspect that the US is primarily interested in puling the Sunnis
into its camp and that the price for that could be to give up
protection of the Shiites. Therefore, the Shiites are prepared to
protect themselves with the help of militia. Under the government
program, the militia groups are to be disarmed - however, until
Iraq steps back from the brink of civil war that will be difficult.



Conservatives Come to Power in Sweden


5. After 12 years of Social Democratic government, Sweden has opted
for change: the conservative alliance headed by Fredrik Reinfeldt
won 48.1 percent of the votes; the Social Democrats got 46.2
percent. Current Prime Minister Gran Persson ahs already
resigned.
Reinfeldt's alliance, consisting of Liberal People's Party, Centrist
Party, and Christian Democrats, embarked on the election campaign
promising the voters a tax reduction, which it plans to finance
through cuts in unemployment benefits. Persson, who advocated a
strong welfare state, was held by the Swedes to be lacking in new
ideas. His failure is also said to indicate that Swedish voters want
changes in the Welfare system, writes ORF online. As Prime Minister,
Reinfeldt says he would privatize state-owned companies. Selling the
state's share in enterprises such as Bank Nordea or the airline SAS
could earn the government billions. Reinfeldt is also planning to
bring Sweden closer to the EU - however, there will be no referendum
about introducing the euro during the next four years.

Provincial Elections in Germany


6. The provincial elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern
(M-V) brought losses for the CDU of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel
in both provinces. The ruling Social Democrats were able to increase
their margin in Berlin, although they lost 10.4 percent compared to
the last election in M-V. Also in M-V, the neo-Nazi NPD party won
7.3 percent and so will be in the next provincial parliament.
In Berlin, meager election results for the Leftist Party could
prompt Mayor Klaus Wowereit to give preference to the Greens as
coalition partner since they generated better results. In M-V,
acting SPD Governor Harald Ringstorff will probably be able to
continue governing together with the Leftist Party, since the CDU
will probably not find a coalition partner except for the SPD
itself, writes independent daily "Der Standard." The rise of the NPD
is a matter of grave concern - M-V will be the second German
province after Sachsen where the NPD will have seats in parliament -
the neo-Nazi party scores especially with young voters, where the
approval rate is 12 percent. About 76 percent of the party's voters
opt for the NPD "out of protest." there will be no referendum about
introducing the euro during the next four years.

Pope Regrets


7. After fierce protests and assassination threats caused by his
statements regarding violence and Islam, the Pope is now trying to
placate his critics - he voiced his "vivid regret" over his speech
and expressed the hope that his words would suffice to appease
Muslims. Indeed, Muslim associations in Europe have hailed the
Pope's regrets an "important step."
The Pope has been threatened with murder after his critical
statement on Islam, reports mass circulation daily "Kurier."
Assassination threats and a video, which is ascribed to al-Qaida,
has been circulated via internet, and in Somalia, fundamentalists
have embarked on a "Pope hunt." An Italian nun was murdered in
Mogadishu. Terror experts are taking the threats seriously, writes
mass circulation provincial daily "Kleine Zeitung." The security
authorities have drastically enhanced surveillance and security
checks in the Vatican. there will be no referendum about introducing
the euro during the next four years.

Start of IAEA General Conference


8. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will begin its
annual General Conference in Vienna on Monday. Apart from the
Iranian nuclear issue, the establishment of a nuclear fuel bank, in
which those states in possession of nuclear technology could provide
enriched uranium for nuclear power plants in all countries, will be
an important topic.

Newly Revived Anti-US Alliance


9. Shortly before the start of the UN General Assembly, the
non-aligned nations, at a summit meeting in Havana, welded together
an anti-US alliance aimed at reviving the ailing movement. Bolivia,
Venezuela, and Cuba were assured of moral support against US
meddling into their internal affairs. Iran's right to pursue a
nuclear program for peaceful purposes was confirmed, but they were
also called upon to cooperate with the IAEA.
The main winners of the summit were host Cuba, which had undertaken
to lend to the movement a new, anti-imperialist touch. Venezuela's
President Hugo Chavez could likewise be satisfied: He got further
support for Venezuela's campaign to be a non-permanent member of the
UN Security Council and announced that he already had the necessary
votes. This announcement met with sharp criticism from the US,
which holds Chavez to be a communist, anti-American troublemaker. In
an analysis of the event, independent daily "Der Standard" is
cautious with predictions about the durability of the renaissance of
the non-aligned states. there will be no referendum about
introducing the euro during the next four years.
McCaw