AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 17, 2007

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SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 17, 2007


Prammer: No Referendum on EU Treaty


1. Ahead of sessions resuming after the summer recess today,
Austrian Parliamentary President Barbara Prammer of the SPOe
outlines the key issues Parliament will be expected to address in
2007/2008. Topics include decisions on the EU reform treaty, Prammer
says, and underscores that in her view an Austrian referendum is not
necessary to pass the document, which is to replace the EU
Constitution. She is "convinced" the treaty is "compatible with the
Austrian Constitution."
Reporting on Barbara Prammer's recent statements on the EU reform
treaty, mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung runs the front-page
headline "Parliamentary President snubs voters: The people don't get
their say on EU!" With her announcement that a referendum on the
treaty was "not necessary," the Parliamentary President, as well as
the coalition partners SPOe and OeVP were "walking over the Austrian
people," the tabloid continues. Prammer points out that the Austrian
Parliament had voted in support of the EU draft constitution in the
past, and she argues that the revised document, the so-called EU
reform treaty, which the Kronen Zeitung describes as a "sham
package," is "compatible with the Austrian constitution."


Gusenbauer Rebukes OeVP


2. Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer from the Social Democrats
has rebuked his coalition partner OeVP for its stance on
integration. Speaking on ORF television, the Chancellor criticized
that a number of OeVP MPs had participated in a demonstration
"alongside radicals and skinheads" against an Islamic center in
Vienna. "It is a cause for concern, when individuals fail to clearly
disassociate themselves from any kind of far-right mobilization,"
Gusenbauer warned. He also called for a "different tone" in the
debate of integration issues.
Like all major Austrian media, centrist daily Die Presse and liberal
daily Der Standard point out that Austrian Chancellor Alfred
Gusenbauer, speaking on ORF TV's Sunday morning program Meet the
Press on September 16, underscored that "Terrorism, and
dictatorship, the enemies of democracy, but not Islam, nor any other
religion or faith, is our enemy." On Tuesday, the Chancellor
continued, he wants to kick off a dialogue with representatives of
different faiths, while making it clear that "Austria rejects
fundamentalism. We are a country that has chosen a middle course,
moderation and peaceful coexistence." This, however, requires that
everyone in Austria observes values including tolerance, equal
rights and opportunities, and open democracy: "Those who come to
live in our country also need to observe those values, and they'll
also have the chance to become proud Austrians, just as we are,"
Gusenbauer stressed. That is why the issue of Islamic fundamentalism
needed to be addressed politically in the same way as those
"die-hard, stick-in-the-mud groups and people" needed to be dealt
with, who were continuing to live in the past, said the Chancellor.



More Money for Bigger Families


3. Families with three or more children may soon be entitled to a
raise of child benefit payments per child and per month. Minister of
Health and Family Affairs Andrea Kdolsky (OeVP) submitted the
corresponding law for appraisal Friday. Under the new scheme, a
family will receive 35 Euros for its second and third child
combined, and another 50 for each further child, in addition to the
monthly sum of about 400 Euros. The law also raises the income limit
for big families. In total, the new child benefit package will cost
the government 36 million Euros, and is expected to go into effect
on 1 January, 2008.
According to mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich of September 15,
Minister for Women's Issues Doris Bures from the SPOe welcomed her
OeVP colleague Andrea Kdolsky's announcement that families with
three or more children can expect to be entitled to a raise of child
benefit payments per child and per month as of 2008. The Greens
family issue spokesperson Sabine Mandak, however, was more critical:
"It would make a lot more sense to provide more money for the
expansion of child daycare facilities."


Mukasey to Replace Gonzales?


4. US President George W. Bush is said to have chosen a replacement
for outgoing Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. The US President is
expected to nominate retired federal judge Michael Mukasey, who has
presided over a number of high-profile terrorism trials. Gonzales
stepped down earlier this year amid accusations that he fired eight
lawyers for political reasons and later lied about it.
ORF online news describes the potential successor for the post of
Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, as a "retired, conservative
federal judge." Sourcing the Washington Post and the New York Times,
ORF online news adds that although Mukasey is considered a
conservative, and a "man of law and order," he is also has the
appreciation of the Democrats, which should rule out any major
problems in connection with his Senate confirmation. The 66-year-old
Mukasey was the presiding judge in several terrorism cases during
the past decades, and also worked as a legal advisor to Republican
presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani.


IAEA Members to Discuss Nuclear Security


5. Nuclear experts from around the world are gathering in Vienna
this week for a meeting which aims to make nuclear energy safer and
to restrict the spread of nuclear weapons. The 144 member nations of
the International Atomic Energy Agency will discuss nuclear security
as well as measures to protect against nuclear terrorism. IAEA
Director General Mohamed ElBaradei has warned of the risks in
connection with nuclear materials falling into the hands of
terrorists.
Meanwhile, ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal, reporting on
the issue of Iran, says that the French Foreign Minister, Bernard
Kouchner, has given a warning about the possibility of war over
Iran's nuclear program. Speaking on French television and radio,
Kouchner stressed that "we have to prepare for the worst, and the
worst is war." The Minister also emphasized that although
negotiations with Iran should continue right to the end, an Iranian
nuclear weapon would pose a real danger. Tehran meanwhile continues
to deny it is trying to acquire nuclear weapons, but insists on its
right to enrich uranium.


Over 90 Killed In Thailand Plane Crash


6. According to ORF online news, the death toll in yesterday's plane
crash in Thailand is now put at 91. About 40 people -- among them
one Austrian from Vorarlberg -- escaped the burning wreck, after the
plane, which was operated by budget airline One-TwoGo, skidded off
the runway at Phuket Airport in havy rain. Investigators say that
two flight recoders have in the meantime been recovered. Accordin
to the Austrian Foreign Ministry, it is not cler whether ny other
Austrians may have been amon those killed in the crash, as the
authorities inThailand have not yet published a full list of
pssengers.


Karamanlis Wins Greek Elections

7 The governing conservative party of Greek Prime Mnister Kostas
Karamanlis has claimed victory in the general elections. With most
votes counted, his New Democracy Party won almost 43 percent of the
votes, compared with 38.5 percent for Socialist party Pasok.
Karamanlis said his party therefore had a clear mandate "for a new,
more dynamic beginning" to "continue more swiftly and decisively the
changes, and the reforms the country needs." The Greek election
campaigns were dominated by last month's devastating forest fires,
ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal reports.
McCaw