Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08VIENNA1861
2008-12-18 07:23:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Vienna
Cable title:  

AUSTRIA'S NEW CABINET: DEFENSE MINISTER DARABOS

Tags:  PGOV PREL MARR AU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO9293
RR RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHNP RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHVI #1861/01 3530723
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 180723Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1732
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 001861 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIA'S NEW CABINET: DEFENSE MINISTER DARABOS

Classified by: Economic-Political Counselor J. Dean Yap for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 001861

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/CE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/18/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL MARR AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIA'S NEW CABINET: DEFENSE MINISTER DARABOS

Classified by: Economic-Political Counselor J. Dean Yap for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (U) The following is a profile of Norbert Darabos, of the
Social Democratic Party (SPO),who has been named Defense
Minister in the new GOA cabinet.

Experience
--------------


2. (U) Darabos is a holdover from the short-lived cabinet of
former Chancellor Gusenbauer. He was sworn in December 2,
2008 for a second 5-year term as Austria's Minister of
Defense in the new SPO-OVP coalition government.


3. (U) Born May 31, 1964 in the province of Burgenland,
Darabos comes from a blue-collar and ethnic Croatian
background. He attended a Catholic high school in
Eisenstadt, and earned a master's degree in history and
political science from the University of Vienna.


4. (U) Darabos has acquired a reputation as an effective
political operative within the SPO. Prior to his first term
as Defense Minister, he successfully organized SPO campaigns,
including the 2000 Burgenland state election and President
Fischer's successful 2004 run. Darabos was instrumental in
helping former SPO Chancellor Gusenbauer win the October 2006
elections despite a widely unfavorable political climate for
the SPO and Gusenbauer himself. Following the 2006 election,
most analysts pegged Darabos to become Interior Minister.
Instead, he was appointed Defense Minister, and in November
2008 was re-nominated for the same post under new SPO
Chancellor Faymann.


5. (U) Darabos' political career began with a stint as head
of the Burgenland chapter of the Renner Institute, the SPO
think tank, in 1987. From 1991 to 1997, Darabos worked as
office manager and press spokesman for the governor of
Burgenland, and then as party manager of the Burgenland SPO.
From 2000 to 2003, Darabos was SPO party whip in the state
parliament of Burgenland. In 2003, Gusenbauer appointed
Darabos as the national SPO Party Manager. From 2004 to
2007, Darabos was a member of the federal parliament. In the
1990s he represented the SPO on the Viewers' Council of the
ORF National Broadcasting Agency and represented the Croatian
minority on the National Minorities Advisory Council.


6. (SBU) Darabos' first term as Defense Minister (2007-2008)
was overshadowed by consistent criticism from political
opponents and the media of his decision to reduce the number
of Eurofighter interceptors Austria would buy under an
agreement signed by the previous center-right government. He
reduced the purchase from 18 fighters to 15 in a money-saving
effort. Darabos was a driving force behind Austria's
commitment in spring 2008 to supply about 170 peacekeepers to
the EU's mission in Chad (EUFOR). In December 2008 he
indicated Austria would extend the Chad mission beyond its
current March 2009 phase-out date. Throughout 2008 Darabos
has repeatedly rejected U.S. calls for renewed Austrian
participation in security tasks in Afghanistan.


7. (U) Chronic underfunding of Austria's military will
continue to undermine its ability to engage in multinational
missions. Austria's defense budget stands at around 0.8
percent of GDP - one of the lowest military budgets in Europe.


8. (U) Darabos is the first Austrian Defense Minister to have
met his compulsory service requirement through alternative
community service in lieu of military service. His hobbies
are table tennis and soccer (he heads a local soccer club).

Family
--------------


9. (U) Darabos is married and has two teenaged children. One
of this sons suffered injuries in a traffic accident in the
U.S. in 2008. His family still lives in his hometown of
Kroatisch-Minihof, Burgenland.

Comment: Viewed With Suspicion by Military
--------------


10. (C) The Austrian military viewed Darabos with suspician
when he assumed the position of Defense Minister in 2007.
Darabos had avoided military service, and his only known view
on military issues was his opposition to the Eurofighter.
His move to reduce the Eurofighter purchase was widely seen
as a political ploy that made no sense from a security
perspective. Military contacts complain that Darabos is
unable, perhaps unwilling, to secure increased funding for
the armed forces. He is widely perceived as an ambitious

VIENNA 00001861 002 OF 002


politician stuck against his will in one of Austria's less
desirable cabinet posts.
GIRARD-DICARLO