AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: November 15, 2006

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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: November 15, 2006


Election Contest to Open Doors for SPOe, Greens?


1. The KPOe and Hans-Peter Martin's List are reportedly considering
contesting the October 1 elections because the BZOe ran under
different names in Carinthia province and at the national level.
Should the Austrian Constitutional Court rule that the BZOe lose its
representation in Parliament, the way would be clear for a
SPOe-Greens coalition, an Austrian daily suggests: with 93 seats,
the two parties would have a slight majority in Parliament.
Semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung speculates that an election
contest could still make a Social Democrat-Greens majority in
Parliament possible. Both the Austrian Communist Party and maverick
MEP Hans-Peter Martin's List have said they are considering filing a
motion to contest the general election result before the Friday
deadline, claiming the BZOe's result is invalid: Since the Party ran
as "Die Freiheitlichen in Kaernten - Liste Joerg Haider - BZOe" in
Carinthia, and as "Die Freiheitlichen - Liste Westenthaler - BZOe"
at the national level, the two groups would have to be treated as
two individual parties and their results counted separately, the
KPOe and Martin argue. Should the Constitutional Court rule in favor
of the motion, the two BZOe groups would fall short of the 4-
percent margin and lose their seats in Parliament, the daily
explains. This, in turn, would require a redistribution of seats and
provide the SPOe and the Greens with a slight parliamentary majority
over the OeVP and the FPOe.


Minority Government Imminent?


2. According to an Austrian daily, SPOe leader Alfred Gusenbauer
will ask President Heinz Fischer to call for the formation of a
minority government in their meeting on Monday. While the Social
Democrats are said to be keeping a list for the "Gusenbauer
cabinet", a survey by polling institute Gallup suggests that the
majority of Austrians are currently backing a SPOe-led minority
government.
Mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich says in a front-page report
that Thursday is the last chance for the OeVP to agree to resume
negotiations with the Social Democrats on forming a grand coalition
government. Should they pass up this opportunity, Alfred Gusenbauer
could ask the President next week to charge him with forming a
minority government led by the SPOe, Social Democrats' party manager
Norbert Darabos and Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl stated.
Meanwhile, a survey by polling institute Gallup shows that 57
percent of Austrians would favor a SPOe-led minority government,
should a grand coalition not be formed. In addition, 40 percent want
Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel to step down if the SPOe-OeVP
coalition talks fail for good. Voters' support at this point is
strongest for the Social Democrats, who would get 41 percent if
elections were held this Sunday. The OeVP would currently get 33
percent of the votes, the Greens 12 percent, the FPOe ten and the
BZOe three percent, according to the survey.


Van der Bellen Urges Elections


3. Speaking on ORF TV last night, the leader of the Austrian Greens,
Alexander Van der Bellen, called for new elections as soon as
possible, if the Social Democrats and the People's Party fail to
agree on forming a grand coalition.
Speaking on ORF TV's Tuesday evening political program Report,
Greens leader Alexander Van der Bellen said the formation of a
Social-Democrat-led minority government was no alternative to an
agreement between the SPOe and the OeVP, as such a government would
only delay the Austrian voters' likely return to the polls.
Nonetheless, his party would not table a motion for new elections at
a special parliamentary session scheduled for Friday. Vander Bellen
also dismissed the idea of a three-party-coalition.


Turkish EU Membership Bid


4. Officially, at least, Turkey is not taking very seriously the
Austrian Foreign Minister's proposal earlier this week for a "time
out" in negotiations with Ankara over EU membership, an Austrian
daily writes. Simultaneously, Turkey is warning a potential halt in
membership talks might have repercussions all over Europe and
destabilize the EU.
Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik's suggestion for a "time
out " in EU membership negotiations with Turkey because of Ankara's
refusal to recognize Cyprus has not had much impact in the Turkish
media and political circles, liberal daily Der Standard writes.
Apparently, they have grown used to Austria's highly critical views
on Turkish EU membership, the daily adds. Meanwhile, the Turkish
Foreign Ministry -- with the assistance of the Finnish EU Presidency
-- is apparently preparing a push for negotiations with Cyprus: A
ministry spokesperson said Ankara expected new suggestions from
Helsinki soon. At the same time, Turkey's chief EU negotiator Ali
Babacan warned in a panel discussion in Brussels that a suspension
of membership talks would not only have negative consequences for
Turkey and the European Union, but could also further destabilize
the entire southeastern part of the EU, the Standard writes.


IAEA Report Accuses Iran


5. The IAEA in a report says it has found new traces of plutonium
and enriched uranium in Iran at a nuclear waste facility. Officials
say the finding does not confirm Iran has a nuclear weapons program.
Meanwhile, US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said the
report would be closely studied in Washington.
According to ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal, the report
on plutonium and enriched uranium finds in Iran by inspectors from
the UN's nuclear watchdog working in the country stressed that the
IAEA is currently investigating explanations provided by Tehran on
the uranium and plutonium traces. US Under Secretary of State
Nicholas Burns is quoted on ORF radio as emphasizing that the US is
"concerned by it. It adds further to our concern that the United
Nations Security Council has to act as quickly as possible - more
quickly than it is now deliberating. So we hope the Iranian
government will heed the warning that was issued by the
International Atomic Energy Agency today." The report will be
debated at the next meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in
Vienna.


Iraq Torture Allegations


6. UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak told an Austrian
daily that "torture in Iraq these days is worse than under Saddam
Hussein." He deplored the "massive extent of torture and extreme
violence" in Iraq, with all factions fighting each other in what he
described as "ethnic cleansings."
Torture practices in Iraq are worse today than under Saddam Hussein,
UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak told mass-circulation
provincial daily Kleine Zeitung: "Previously, you more or less knew
who was in danger - namely those people who questioned Saddam's
absolute rule, minorities and the Shiites. These days, you just
can't be sure. Today, it's Shiites against Sunnis, and Sunnis
against Shiites. We are witnessing ethnic cleansings." In addition,
international terrorist groups and criminals were also active in
Iraq, and some Iraqi ministries had their holding places where
massive torture was commonplace, Nowak says. The death sentence for
Saddam Hussein is unlikely to defuse the situation, Nowak believes.
The death penalty is not fair punishment, "it is simply inhumane."
Moreover, he warned, the verdict looked too much like an act of
revenge, "which will lead to more violence rather than less."
Meanwhile, according to semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung, an
international lawyers' group has asked Germany's Federal Prosecution
Office in Karlsruhe to sue former US Defense Secretary Donald
Rumsfeld to prosecute him for war crimes, citing alleged prisoner
abuse in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. The complaint was filed on behalf
of a Saudi man held in Cuba and 11 Iraqis held in Baghdad. German
law allows the pursuit of cases originating anywhere in the world.
McCaw