Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08VIENNA1646
2008-11-07 14:44:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Vienna
Cable title:  

"ELECTION 2008" PROGRAMS DIVERTED ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE

Tags:  AGS KPAO IIP ECA AU 
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P 071444Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1319
UNCLAS VIENNA 001646 


DEPT FOR EUR/PPD FOR ASHLEY WHITE, EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AGS KPAO IIP ECA AU

SUBJECT: "ELECTION 2008" PROGRAMS DIVERTED ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE
THROUGH AUSTRIA

UNCLAS VIENNA 001646


DEPT FOR EUR/PPD FOR ASHLEY WHITE, EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: AGS KPAO IIP ECA AU

SUBJECT: "ELECTION 2008" PROGRAMS DIVERTED ROAD TO THE WHITE HOUSE
THROUGH AUSTRIA


1. (U) Summary: The 2008 presidential election proved to be an
excellent and sustained opportunity for PAS Vienna to reach and
influence audiences across Austria. Recognizing keen interest in
this year's historic election, post utilized the full range of
public diplomacy vehicles - speakers, videoconferences, cultural
programs and more - to inform Austrians about the U.S. election
system, politics and policies, and core American values. Informal
feedback from co-sponsors and audiences throughout the year was
consistently positive and thankful. Targeted programs for teachers
and schools were particular highlights, as their continuing interest
in understanding the U.S. election was pronounced. These programs,
as well as the optimistic atmosphere they helped generate, provided
excellent opportunities to renew relationships with Austrians whose
passions for America had cooled or even soured during the past
several years. End summary.


2. (U) Since beginning its "Election 2008" programming in earnest in
December 2007, PAS has organized at least 35 visits to high schools
and universities, 15 speaker programs, seven digital
videoconferences (DVCs) for media, dozens of interviews, and
numerous electronic program briefs, e-journals and website postings.
Our comprehensive "Election 2008" outreach efforts culminated in a
boisterous election watch party on November 4-5 for 600 contacts,
including numerous journalists. The party included a mock election
(no surprise: Senator Obama was the clear winner),an explanation of
the electoral system by Ambassador Girard-diCarlo, and numerous
media interviews. The Ambassador personally granted several
interviews, including a live stand-up with national broadcaster
ORF-TV early on November 5. After a year of election programming,
PAS calculates that we directly reached a total audience of 6,500
and, through media coverage of our events, postings on our website,
and further distribution of materials, hundreds of thousands more.
Here's a rundown:

HAVE SPEAKER, WILL TRAVEL.
--------------


3. (U) PAS hosted 15 speakers in several cities, attracting hundreds
of political experts, academics and students as well as
representatives from the media, the government and business
communities. Speakers addressed topics ranging from the mechanics
of winning the White House (Prof. Robert Schmuhl of Notre Dame) to
the personalities and politics of the 2008 campaign (Amy Walter of

CNN). One speaker, Chan Lowe, an editorial cartoonist with "The
South Florida Sun-Sentinel" newspaper, spoke candidly on the
connections among free speech, satire and political cartooning. His
audience of journalists, political scientists and students was
greatly extended by media coverage, including an interview with
liberal-left "Der Standard" newspaper's online edition and an
English-language radio interview. Equally well-received and
well-covered by the media were presentations by the New America
Foundation's Steve Clemons on the impact of the Internet and new
media on the election.


4. (U) In addition to IIP and target-of-opportunity speakers such as
resident Fulbright professors, embassy officials - including the
Ambassador, DCM, the Counselors for Public Affairs and Economic and
Political Affairs and their staffs - gave presentations, hosted
roundtables and engaged in Q & A sessions with students. Tapping
into new media, the Ambassador participated in an hour-long on-line
lunchtime chat hosted by centrist "Die Presse," one of Austria's
premier newspapers on October 31. He chatted with 14 participants
(many more were in the queue) while 1,600 others read along.

ELECTION FOCUS: TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
--------------


5. (U) Austrian youth were particularly interested in the election
and faculty demand for embassy speakers remained high. At least ten
embassy officers and interns participated in PAS-organized visits to
three dozen or so schools and universities throughout Austria. They
discussed the primaries and the political landscape, the Electoral
College and voting patterns, campaign financing and advertising, and
other topics with nearly 2,000 students. Feedback was uniformly
positive and many schools have requested post-election
presentations. Embassy Economic/Political, Foreign Agriculture,
Consular and other colleagues were especially energetic in meeting
these requests, providing young Austrians with invaluable and
informed insight about American democracy, politics and policies.


6. (U) PAS also focused on teachers of English and American Studies.
Forty teachers, for instance, attended a two-and-one-half-day
workshop on the American political process and the 2008 election led
by Harvard University Associate Professor of Government D. Sunshine
Hillygus. Punctuated by vigorous debates, the participants found
the workshop rewarding and vowed to share the lessons learned with
their colleagues and classes. In addition, for much of the year,
the American Reference Center has included election-oriented
materials in its monthly electronic newsletter for teachers (circ.
800) and has distributed topical e-journals and DVDs to more than
1,000 teachers.

THE MEDIA'S INSATIABLE APPETITE
--------------


7. (U) During the past year, Austrian media have provided regular,
in-depth coverage of the U.S. presidential campaigns. Indeed, the
U.S. election at times received greater, timelier and more detailed
coverage than the Austrian national election on September 28, 2008.
In response, PAS organized a series of digital videoconferences for
small groups of influential editors and journalists. Scheduled to
coincide with milestone events such as primaries and the
conventions, the seven DVCs enabled Austrian journalists to directly
engage Washington experts, political analysts and leading
journalists in nuanced discussions. The insights gained were often
reflected in post-DVC reporting for Austrian media consumers.


8. (U) Besides hosting the DVCs and providing local media with
opportunities to interviews speakers and embassy officials, PAS also
facilitated visits to the United States for Austrian journalists.
The foreign editor of a regional daily, "Tiroler Tageszeitung,"
(circ. 109,000),for example, participated in an election tour
organized by the Washington Foreign Press Center. As a result, the
journalist was able to provide his western Austrian readership with
a current, in-depth analysis of the campaign process, describing
everything from the nuts-and-bolts of campaign finances to the
atmosphere at a political rally.

INTERNET AND CULTURAL PROGRAMS
--------------


9. (U) PAS posted its "Election 2008" page on the embassy's website
in October 2007. Since then, it has logged more than 17,000
viewers, making it the second-most popular page after the English
language portal. In addition, the American Reference Center
distributed election-oriented program briefs, e-journals,
newsletters, article alerts and other documents to thousands of
recipients, many of whom share these documents with others.


10. (U) In the cultural realm, PAS cooperated with the Austrian Film
Museum on several film-and-politics programs. We screened, for
example, "The Manchurian Candidate" and "Dr. Strangelove" and held
panel discussions, such as the one featuring Smithsonian Institution
curator James Deutsch and the Oscar-winning Austrian film maker
Stefan Ruzowitzky ("The Counterfeiters") which attracted hundreds of
movie buffs. In addition, PAS supported the exhibition "Our
America?" organized by the Mauthausen Committee. Through film,
photos, documents and objects, this exhibit in downtown Vienna
explored elections and pivotal events in 20th Century America. More
than 1,500 students and faculty visited it.


11. (U) For supporting PAS's election programming, post wishes to
thank all Washington elements, especially Cathy Siemonh, Melissa
Jarrett and their IIP speaker program colleagues; IIP/WV's Sandy
Bruckner and colleagues; the Foreign Press Center's Keith Peterson;
as well as EUR/PPD officer Kerri Hannan and successor Ashley White.
Our success was yours as well. We look forward to working together
just as energetically to explain the new Administration and its
priorities in 2009.

UNDERCUTTING ANTI-AMERICANISM
--------------

12 (U) Comment: Segments of the Austrian public and press disagree
with some current American policies and attitudes toward the United
States and its society can be quite critical. PAS, however, found
that its election programming was well-received and, for the most
part, met with no anti-Americanism. Thus, not only did PAS'
"Election 2008" programs meet audiences' and media's desire for
information and insight into the election, they enabled the Mission
to emphasize America's core values of democracy, equality and
freedom and to renew relationships with members of Austrian think
tanks, the media and other institutions that have cooled during the
past few years.


13. The presidential campaign (and election) of Senator Obama
especially thrilled large swaths of Austrians. The American
election process, with its twists and turns, rules and
peculiarities, personalities and controversies, absorbed Austrian
media and their audiences. In post's view, our programs on this
great exercise in democracy highlighted the best in America and
helped undermine negative stereotypical views of the United States
and its society. End comment.

Girard-diCarlo#