AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: October 13, 2006

UNCLAS VIENNA 003041 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 13, 2006 OeVP Wants Ministry of Finance ¶1. Coalition negotiations over formation of a new government begin Friday. OeVP says it will play hardball, trying to push through its budget goals and retain the Finance Ministry. Current Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser no longer rules out staying in office in the next government. Independent daily "Der Standard" reports that Minister of Finance Karl-Heinz Grasser gave a budget account on Thursday where he claimed to remain "very relaxed" in the face of the coalition negotiations. Asked whether he could imagine staying on under a Chancellor Gusenbauer, Grasser replied that he did not yet know whether Gusenbauer would actually become chancellor. Grasser's budgetary record contains a lower budget deficit than so far assumed. He also insisted that a zero deficit for 2008 was realistic and demanded that every new project of the coming government would have to be presented together with a plan for how it will be financed. Greens Expected to Name Next Citizens' Attorney ¶2. Green parliamentarian Terezija Stoisits will probably become the next head of the Citizens Attorney's Office. The Greens' third-place finish in the national elections allows them to claim the position, which so far has been held by the FPOe. The Greens will also occupy the position of third President of the Federal Assembly, for which they also intend to nominate a woman. Terezija Stoisits, the Greens' candidate for the position of Citizens' Attorney, has been a Member of Parliament for 16 years. Born in Croatia, the expert for human and rights has retained her ethnic roots and has always been at the forefront fighting for civil rights for Austrians and foreigners, and especially for minority groups. Stoisits will probably assume office middle of next year, when her predecessor has finished his term. The Office for Citizens' Rights was founded in the seventies with the aim of creating an institution that could mediate between the citizens in quest of legal advice and the bureaucracy. The Office for Citizens' Rights has three chairpersons, one from each of the three largest parties. During the past few years, its position has been weakened because state, provinces and communes have privatized parts of their administrative institutions, writes independent daily "Salzburger Nachrichten. Setbacks for Turkey ¶3. This year's Nobel Prize for Literature went to the Turkish author Orhan Parmuk, who is prosecuted in Turkey because of his harsh criticism of the regime, just as the French Parliament passes a law forbidding denial of the Armenian genocide. Orhan Pamuk is known for his sharp criticism of the repression of the Armenians and Kurds by the Turkish government and therefore decried as a traitor by Turkish-nationalist groups. Centrist daily "Die Presse" points out that the symbolism inherent in this decision by the Swedish Academy in favor of Pamuk was enhanced by the French Parliament's decision to make the denial of the genocide of Armenians during the years 1915-17 punishable by law. This decision is threatening to have a negative impact on relations between Turkey and the EU, especially France. According to the daily, Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah G|l warned that the implementation of the law by France might provoke economic sanctions such as the exclusion of French enterprises from contracts. In the face of this threat, the French government might postpone the implementation of the law. President Jacques Chirac has already called it "unnecessary polemics" - however, he, too, demanded that Turkey acknowledge the genocide as a fundamental condition for EU membership. EU Pressure: Retirement Age Should Be Increased ¶4. EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Issues Vladimir Spindla warns that, in 2030, there will be a considerable deficit in the European labor force of about 20 million, due to low birth rates and increasing life expectancy. According to Spindla, immigration alone will not solve the problem. Mass circulation daily "Kurier" reports about the worrying prognosis with regard to Europe's future demographic development, quoting EU Commissioner Spindla as saying that the situation in Europe was a "time bomb" and solutions had to be found now. Spindla pointed out the necessity of "aging actively," called for more childcare facilities, and facilitating immigration. Austria does rather better in comparison to most EU states. It has already implemented a pension reform, however, it is lagging behind when it comes to keeping older employees in the work process. With regard to population growth, Austria is doing well - projections are that the Austrian population will grow by about ten percent until 2050, writes the daily. Veto Powers Close to Agreement on North Korea ¶5. Agreement of the five UN veto powers and Japan over sanctions against North Korea is in sight. US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton said Thursday that most of the Chinese and Russian objections have been eliminated. A resolution could come Friday. The strongest reaction to the nuclear test has so far come from Japan - it has decided to impose a total embargo for supplies from North Korea and a ban on North Korean ships wanting to anchor at Japanese ports. In addition, North Korean government officials may not travel to Japan during the next six months, writes ORF online, stating that this reaction was so far the sharpest answer from a member of the international community to the North Korean threat. According to reports of independent daily "Der Standard," South Korea is also considering measures: More armament and possibly accepting the long-standing US offer to take South Korea under its protective nuclear shield. The South Korean army is preparing for various scenarios as a reaction to North Korea's testing of a nuclear bomb. In the meantime, China is contemplating taking a tougher stand against its ally. Criticism in the country is growing with regard to China's appeasement policy regarding North Korea, writes "Der Standard." Terror Fears in New York ¶6. The accidental crash of a small plane into a New York skyscraper heightens fears of a new terrorist incident and raises questions about the security of the city's air space. Independent daily "Der Standard" refers in this connection to information, which the Federal Aviation Agency gave to the German weekly magazine "Der Spiegel." According to the FAA, there is an "Air Defense Identification Zone" over New York - three overlapping circles with the airports Kennedy, La Guardia and Newark in the center. Within this zone, planes can move around freely, provided that they announce a flight plan. Private jets simply have to identify themselves. A permanent military surveillance of the air traffic would be too expensive, said Bruce Hoffman, a terror prevention expert of the Rand Corporation, adding that the air space remained a "deplorably vulnerable point even after the attacks of 9/11." Republicans on the Defensive ¶7. The Foley scandal has struck at the heart of the Bush party: That a Congressman who publicly fought for moral values sexually harassed an underage intern could harm the Republicans in the upcoming midterm Congressional elections. This scandal has now increased the Democrats' chances of winning congressional seats in the elections, writes semi-official daily "Wiener Zeitung." In various opinion polls, the Democrats were 21 to 23 percentage points ahead of their Republican opponents, endangering the latter margin not just in the House of Representatives, but also in the Senate. The popular dissatisfaction with George Bush's policies and the Iraq war has been aggrandized by the Foley scandal. The traditionally minded and religious Republican voters are bound to regard it as hypocrisy. Polls conducted by the "New York Times" and "CBS News" showed that 79 percent of persons polled believed that the Republicans were more interested in political power than in the welfare of minors, writes "Wiener Zeitung." McCaw