AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: December 07, 2006

UNCLAS VIENNA 003504 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: December 07, 2006 Fischer Speaks Out On Haubner Law ¶1. President Heinz Fischer has harshly criticized a Social Affairs Ministry decree denying family benefits to the children of some foreign-born women in Austria as "untenable." In a speech Wednesday, Fischer called for the regulation to be taken back. He pleaded for "fairness instead of unfairness, and laws that support children instead of excluding them." The some 150 hardship cases cited by Social Affairs Minister Ursula Haubner were "150 cases too many," Fischer warned. In addition to President Fischer's strong criticism of the Social Ministry's decree on family benefits, political parties including the SPOe and the Greens, and high-ranking Christian representatives in Austria, a group of leading Austrian NGOs are also continuing their criticism of Social Affairs Minister Ursula Haubner from the BZOe over her unwillingness to back down over the decree denying or delaying family payments to non-Austrian mothers residing legally in this country, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung reports. SPOe and OeVP Taking Their Time ¶2. There has been no genuine progress lately in the ongoing negotiations on the formation of a grand coalition. The SPOe and OeVP seem to be in no hurry, and a government is still along way off. Austrian media speculate the two parties could be playing for time in order to prevent a grand coalition at the last moment. President Fischer has meanwhile urged the negotiation partners to speed up the process. Although the SPOe and the OeVP together with representatives from the business and labor sectors, held a sixth round of talks on forming a coalition government Wednesday, progress has been slow, and many issues remain unresolved, all Austrian media report. Mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung runs the front-page headline "SPOe and OeVP Reaching Impasse," arguing that a grand coalition would only make sense if major projects can be implemented. However, for many of the two parties' key issues, including pension and education reform or the so-called basic security payments, there is not enough money to do so. Meanwhile, mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich believes the still-to-be-formed grand coalition government is already in a crisis: The daily suggests that instead of achieving progress, the SPOe and the OeVP have merely been quarrelling during their coalition talks. The Social Democrats are now concerned the Conservatives could be preparing to bail out of the negotiations altogether. Turkey Planning Sanctions against EU ¶3. Should the European Union decide to put the Turkish membership process on hold, as it has threatened in the face of Ankara's refusal to recognize Cyprus, Turkey could reply with "sanctions" which, according to Turkish media, could include a stop to Ankara's cooperation with the EU regarding the Middle East conflict and the Iranian nuclear program, as well as on Europe's anti-drug, refugees and energy policies. After Austrian media earlier today suggested Turkey could impose "punitive measures" against the EU, should the Europeans suspend membership talks with Ankara, there have been further developments: According to a report by ORF online news, there has been movement in the dispute over Turkey's refusal to recognize Cyprus. A spokesperson for the Finnish EU Presidency announced that Ankara has signaled it is prepared to come around: Turkey says it is going to open one seaport and one airport for ships and planes from Cyprus, the spokesperson stated. Ankara has not yet confirmed these reports, which have also been floated in the Finnish media, writes ORF online news. Tough Iraq Study Group Report ¶4. The report published Wednesday by the Iraq Study Group has President George Bush "in a tight spot," according to ORF television. The report contains some uncomfortable facts, describing the situation in Iraq as "grave and deteriorating," and -- as expected -- recommends a drastic change of course of Washington's policy. Both Republicans and the Democrats, however, see the Baker Commission report as an opportunity to change the situation for the better. "The question remains whether President Bush will follow the group's recommendations," ORF TV comments. All Austrian media give extensive coverage to the report on Iraq published Wednesday by the Baker Commission. According to liberal daily Der Standard, the report warns of potential civil war in Iraq, which would affect the entire region, and suggests the United States should launch direct negotiations with Syria and Iran. In centrist daily Die Presse, Washington correspondent Norbert Rief writes that one of the study group's proposals, calling for direct talks with Syria and Iran to bring abut a stabilization of Iraq, presents a sharp contrast to the White House's policy on the two countries so far. A new strategy in Iraq is needed to guarantee success, the Commission says. Meanwhile, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung reports that President Bush has said he will take the Commission's recommendation very seriously, although he may not follow all of them. Both mass-circulation daily Kurier and mass-circulation provincial daily Kleine Zeitung argue that the report is a "blow" and an "embarrassment for President Bush." Mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung even writes about a "death blow for President Bush's Iraq policy." Senate Confirms Gates ¶5. Robert Gates has been confirmed as the next US Defense Secretary, replacing Donald Rumsfeld who stepped down last month. The Senate approved President George Bush's nominee just a day after Gates won the unanimous endorsement of the Senate's Armed Services Committee. The incoming Pentagon chief told the Senate Committee the US was not winning the war in Iraq and said he was open to new policy ideas. Senior columnist for mass-circulation daily Kronen Zeitung Ernst Trost commented on the confirmation of Robert Gates as new US Defense Secretary: "Robert Gates impressed the senators with his refreshing realism. He analyzed the developments in Iraq and the mistakes that were made there as a reasonable human being, without the ideological blinkers of the neoconservative liberation and democratization ideologues. Now would be the time for these insights to pervade the walls of preconceived opinions around President Bush, and for the White House boss to give up his chosen isolation from the painful truth." McCaw