AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: October 04, 2006

UNCLAS VIENNA 002960 SIPDIS 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: October 04, 2006 Coalition Negotiations to Start Soon ¶1. Negotiations for a new Austrian government start next Tuesday. All Austrian media expect a difficult and drawn out struggle between the country's two major parties, the SPOe and the OeVP, given their disagreement in a number of key political issues. Mass-circulation daily Kurier sees a "deep rift" between the Social Democrats and the Conservatives, and writes that the OeVP has little interest in forming a coalition with the SPOe. Given the massive distrust between the two parties, a new Austrian government is still a long way off, the daily believes. Newly established daily Oesterreich meanwhile suggests the OeVP has threatened to go in opposition: This could be a tactical move in order to keep key ministries in the Conservatives' hands and push trough top political objectives. Mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung lists seven SPOe demands, certain to be dismissed by the OeVP, as the key obstacles on the path to establishing a grand coalition: the cancellation of the controversial Eurofighter purchase; the cancellation of university fees; the introduction of comprehensive schools; no pension cuts for persons who have worked for 45 years, independent of their retirement age; the introduction of a so-called "basic security" social welfare income of 800 Euros; and immediate tax cuts while maintaining inheritance and gift taxes. SPOe Package ¶2. Austrian media list the SPOe's key government projects, speculate which issues could be realized in a grand coalition, and what the potential glitches are. Like mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung, mass-circulation provincial daily Kleine Zeitung lists the top issues on the SPOe's political agenda and their chances of implementation. The cancellation of the Euofighter deal has hardly any chance to go through, as do the cancellation of university fees or the introduction of an 800-Euro basic security payment. The creation of comprehensive schools is also not very likely, the daily says. The outlook is much better when it comes to raising caps on healthcare insurance payments and to introducing more flexible child allowances models. Liberal daily Der Standard meanwhile suggests the FPOe might be willing to support the SPOe and the Greens in their plan to topple the Eurofighter purchase. AUA Set to Cut Jobs ¶3. Talks between the Austrian Airlines (AUA) management and the unions broke down on Tuesday after AUA announced plans to cut up to 350 jobs. AUA board chairperson Alfred Oetsch said management broke off negotiations because the unions were inflexible on implementing reforms Oetsch believes are vital for the airline. Semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung quotes Oetsch as saying cuts were most likely to come from cabin crews as well as from AUA offices in Asia and Australia. The cutbacks are also said to affect about 80 pilots. The AUA board chair added that AUA would continue its participation in Lufthansa's Star Alliance cooperation system, despite rumors earlier this week that AUA was planning to quit Star Alliance in favor of a partnership deal with Air France. Austrian Airlines has been hard hit financially by a drop in air travel and rising fuel prices, which necessitate reforms aimed at getting the carrier out of the red, the daily says. Passenger Data: New Talks ¶4. There will be a new round of talks between the US and the EU regarding the transfer of airline passenger data to US authorities. The European Union wants to reach a common position on the issue this week. According to ORF online news, the EU Commission said earlier this week that a new agreement with the US prior to the expiration of the 2004 data transfer deal had failed because the EU delegation refused to back US proposals without first consulting with EU top political level representatives. Both sides are discussing a new agreement on passenger data transfer, following a May 2006 ruling by the European Court of Justice labeling the 2004 accord unlawful. ORF online news notes that the Court's decision means the European Parliament had been "shooting itself in the foot:" Instead of greater data protection, as desired by the MEPs, the Court had merely ruled the participation of Parliament illegitimate, and had therefore called for an agreement on a new legal basis. Gusenbauer and the US ¶5. An Austrian Washington correspondent reports on US reactions to the SPOe's election victory, and suggests the Social Democrats' chairperson Alfred Gusenbauer is considered a "good man and a friend" of the US in Washington. This was the statement from the US State Department, says Washington correspondent for mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung Hans Janitschek. In addition, Washington is not ruling out a short trip by Gusenbauer to the United States, perhaps even before the formation of a new government and his likely inauguration as Austria's next chancellor, Janitschek continues. Gusenbauer has been to the United Stats on several occasions, and is "naturally" seen to have close ties with US Democrats. He is a friend of former US President Bill Clinton and Senator Hillary Clinton, Janitschek writes. Concern over North Korea ¶6. The United States has issued a strong warning to North Korea over its announcement that it will conduct a nuclear test. Similarly, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has voiced his concern over Pyongyang's SIPDIS activities. North Korea, however, says sanctions and threats from the US had compelled it to act in the first place. ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal quotes a North Korean diplomat as saying the "calls of a threat of a nuclear war, sanctions and pressure by the United States compel us to conduct a nuclear test." South Korea, Russia and Japan have meanwhile joined the US in condemning the test. A South Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson stressed that Pyongyang's move "poses a great challenge to peace and stability in the region," but added that Seoul had its own "action plan in response" to South Korea's nuclear test. In addition, China has appealed to Pyongyang to calm tensions in the region. UNSC Likely to Seek Iran Sanctions ¶7. In the conflict over Iran's nuclear program, the United States has called on the Europeans to conclude negotiations with Tehran by the end of this week. The UN Security Council is expected to start focusing on sanctions against Iran next week. Tehran has already ruled out the suspension of its nuclear program. According to ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal, the EU's talks with Iran on its nuclear program seem to have failed. A report by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana says Iran is not prepared to resume suspension of its uranium enrichment program as required by the Security Council. Solana is scheduled to speak by phone to Tehran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani today. Media Commentaries on North Korea and Iran ¶8. Many Austrian foreign affairs writers comment on the most recent developments in North Korea and Iran, and agree the two countries' nuclear ambitions pose a dual threat and could shift the balance both in the Middle and the Far East. Deputy chief editor for independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten Viktor Hermann says if North Korea "actually succeeds in testing a nuclear bomb, the balance will shift - and not just in the Far East," and the "'axis of evil' would have one more evil member. The only thing that would be even worse would be if Iran, too, succeeded in enriching uranium and producing and testing nuclear weapons of its own. In that case the containment policy pursued by the US, the EU, and the UN would have failed completely - and the world would have become a great deal less secure." Commentator for newly established daily Oesterreich Patrik Volf writes that the "second front in the nuclear conflict, after Iran, was already almost forgotten until North Korea's Kim Jong-Il reminded people of his existence by announcing a nuclear weapons test. US President Bush's announcement of his intention to keep open the option of a preventive strike against other states has fueled the nuclear arms race. After all, those who have the bomb are treated with more respect on the international diplomatic scene. But the price to be paid by North Korea, Iran, and also Pakistan is tremendously high. The costs of the nuclear program, and the economic sanctions, are pushing the population in these countries into poverty. North Korea's government remains a military threat and an issue in international diplomacy at the cost of its own population." Foreign affairs editor for mass-circulation daily Kurier Livia Klingl comments: "What does North Korea want? The experts' answer is usually: Attention. That can be gained by testing nuclear bombs. Attention in the form of worldwide headlines and statements from enraged diplomats and politicians - but not the kind of attention which a starving country needs, namely assistance of any kind, and especially that which goes beyond mere emergency measures." Rice on Mideast Trip ¶9. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is holding talks in Cairo today with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak before meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. She has called on Islamic militants to cooperate with the Palestinian leader, ORF online news writes. McCaw