AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: November 15, 2006

UNCLAS VIENNA 003335 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: 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