AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: May 11, 2007

UNCLAS VIENNA 001230 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: OPRC KPAO AU SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: May 11, 2007 Eurofighter Is an Expensive Deal ¶1. Even if Austria cancels the contract to purchase 18 Eurofighters from the EADS consortium, the jets will have still cost the country a considerable amount of money. So far, about 200 million Euros have gone into preparations for the interceptors and most of it cannot be refunded, experts explained. Reporting on the expenses Austria has already incurred in connection with the Eurofighter deal, ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal said that the country can expect to lose up to 200 million Euros, even if it backs out of the purchase deal: The money has been spent on personnel, a variety of adaptations and logistics in order to prepare for the jets, experts from the Defense Ministry's Audit Office explained. In addition, according to OeVP estimates, the legal proceedings for a potential cancellation of the deal would cost up to 120 million Euros. Commenting on EADS lobbyist Erhard Steininger's statement before the parliamentary investigative committee that he had been no more than the Eurofighter manufacturer's "scout and mailman," mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung suggests that Steininger "has been walking all over the committee." His appearance before the parliamentary inquiry yesterday was "preposterous, and a farce," the daily complains. Meanwhile, independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten describes the seven most glaring "inconsistencies" the Eurofighter committee has come across in its investigation. Magna Bid for Chrysler Confirmed ¶2. Austro-Canadian businessman Frank Stronach announced that Russian Machines, a company controlled by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska, is to invest over one billion Euros in Magna International. Like all Austrian media, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung reports that the Magna Corporation has officially confirmed its interest in buying the financially troubled US car-maker Chrysler. Magna founder Frank Stronach made the announcement in Toronto on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a company controlled by Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska is to invest about 1.14 billion Euros in Magna International -- the Canadian vehicle parts and assembly company. Deripaska's company, Russian Machines, will indirectly buy 20 million shares of Magna, the daily said. Magna also makes vehicles for Chrysler at its Austrian plant near Graz, and has over 80,000 employees all over the world. According to Stronach, the investment by Deripaska would accelerate Magna's strategic efforts to capitalize on growth opportunities in Russia and other markets. Greens: Strache Should Resign ¶3. The Greens have called on Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache to resign over remarks he made on Austrian television about the Nazi period. During a commemoration ceremony for victims of the Nazi period, Strache claimed that people victimized after 1945 have been forgotten. He also said that the Allies had committed deliberate crimes during their ten-year post-war occupation of Austria. Greens deputy leader Madeleine Petrovic underscored it was unacceptable to equate in any way the Nazi period with the era afterwards, the Wiener Zeitung wrote. Blair Steps Down On June 27 ¶4. British Prime Minister Tony Blair announced that he will step down on June 27 after ten years in office. Following the announcement, he received praise from his international allies, including US President George Bush, who said Blair was a man of integrity and vision. ORF radio quotes the US President as saying the outgoing British Premier "is a political figure who is capable of thinking over the horizon. He is a long-term thinker, and I have found him to be a man who has kept his word." All Austrian media report on British Premier Tony Blair's announcement yesterday that he will resign in late June. ORF radio early morning news Morgnejournal quotes US President George Bush, who emphasized his friendship with Blair. He described Blair as a "man who kept his word, which sometimes is rare in political circles." Bush added that he is also looking forward to meeting his successor. In Britain, however, Blair's legacy is seen in a more critical light. The leader of the main opposition party, Conservative David Cameron, spoke of a "decade of dashed hopes and big disappointments." Today, Blair is scheduled to meet with the newly-elected French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Meanwhile, in the UK, Chancellor Gordon Brown, who is widely regarded as Blair's likely successor, is set to officially launch his bid for the Labour Party leadership today. Austrian commentators agree that despite his achievements, Blair will be remembered for his decision to support the US-led Iraq invasion of Iraq. Foreign affairs writer Konrad Kramar suggested in mass-circulation daily Kurier that while "many of Blair's reforms were a genuine success," he ended up as a "man propelled by his superstar-image." Ultimately, the outgoing Premier "will not be measured by his greatest successes, but by his most glaring mistake: The Iraq war." Likewise, deputy chief editor Viktor Hermann argued in the independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten that no doubt, Tony Blair "has left his mark on Britain." Herman described the Labour Party's achievements under Blair, particularly the recent developments in Northern Ireland, but concludes: "Still, the British are unlikely to ever forget that Blair led their country into war for all the wrong reasons, a war that cannot be won and will be difficult to end." US House Passes Iraq Bill ¶5. The US House of Representatives passed a bill on Thursday that would fund military operations in Iraq until the end of July. Under the bill, further funding would depend on Iraq meeting certain - as yet undefined - benchmarks of progress. President George Bush said he would veto the legislation, as he did on an earlier occasion with a bill linking funding to troop withdrawal, according to liberal daily Der Standard. Power Struggle in Iran ¶6. The power struggle in Tehran between President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the pragmatic former Iranian leader Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani appears to have amplified recently the Austrian daily reported. Reporting on the ongoing power struggle between Iranian leader Ahmadinejad and former President Rafsanjani, liberal daily Der Standard said that recent developments including the release from prison of Hossein Mossavian, a critic of the President's nuclear policy, must be considered "defeats for Ahmadinejad." In addition, the former Iranian Foreign Minister, Ali Akbar Valayati, has been appointed the country's new Vice-President. This is likely to curb Ahmadinejad's power even further, particularly with regard to Iran's foreign policy course, the daily believes. The daily's foreign editor Gudrun Harrer commented: "For months, the world has been waiting for a sign of pragmatism from Tehran - so far to no avail. Lately, the general impression has been that Iranian foreign policy is not so much about the country's communication with the rest of the world, but rather reflects events inside Iran, which - for the sake of simplicity - may be described as a contest between Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Ali Akbar Rafsanjani. ... Still, the match is not yet decided. Besides, there seems little reason for cheer, given that the hopes for Iran's future should be pinned on people like Rafsanjani or the controversial ex-foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati." Turkish Mps Back Reform Package ¶7. Turkey's Parliament approved a major constitutional amendment that allows the president to be elected by the people rather than the MPs. More than two-thirds of the MPs backed the amendment and several other reforms, proposed by the governing AK Party. The vote came after MPs had failed to elect the AKP's presidential candidate, Abdullah Gul, because Turkish secularists suspect the AKP has an Islamist agenda. However, the country's President, Ahmet Necdet Sezer, said he may veto the reform package, liberal daily Der Standard reported. McCaw