AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: March 11, 2008

UNCLAS VIENNA 000349

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: March 11, 2008


President Meets SPOe, OeVP Leaders


1. All Austrian media report that President Heinz Fischer invited
the leaders of the government coalition, Chancellor Alfred
Gusenbauer (SPOe) and Vice-Chancellor Wilhelm Molterer (OeVP),to
talks at the Hofburg yesterday, in an attempt to resolve the current
political deadlock. Details of the meeting have not been made public
at this point, but undoubtedly the President urged Gusenbauer and
Molterer to improve cooperation, the media suggest. The President
"is trying to save the coalition," one Austrian daily headlines.
Still, despite Fischer's efforts, and although the OeVP is not
expected to table a motion in Parliament this week on bringing
forward the general elections after all, many political analysts
believe the question is no longer if, but when early elections will
be held.
All Austrian media report that in an "effort to save the coalition,"
as liberal daily Der Standard says, President Heinz Fischer invited
Chancellor Gusenbauer and Vice-Chancellor Molterer to the Hofburg
for "closed door" talks on the government deadlock. On ORF radio
early morning news Morgenjournal, political analyst Emmerich Talos
says like many observers he expects the general elections scheduled
for 2010 will be brought forward: "There is no way for the SPOe to
back down from its demand for tax cuts; the rift between the Social
Democrats and the People's Party has become so deep there is no way
to close it any longer. (...) Even if early elections before the
summer are not an option, the alienation between the SPOe and the
OeVP has reached a level that makes it highly unlikely, in my view,
for the two parties to reach a compromise in fall on the key topics,
such as tax reform or healthcare reform. (...) I believe there were
problems between the two parties from the word go, (...) and fair
words won't help if the coalition partners cannot find common ground
to work on."
Meanwhile, in an interview with semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung,
political analyst Peter Hajek suggests that early elections "would
have only one winner, the FPOe." The Lower Austrian provincial
election "should have the SPOe's alarm bells ringing." Currently,
only one party can be "certain of victory, should the general
elections be brought forward, and that is the FPOe. (...) For the
two major parties, the SPOe and the OeVP, an early vote would
constitute an incalculable risk."


FPOe Rejects Support of a Minority Government


2. FPOe leader Heinz-Christian Strache has said his party will not
play the role of supporter of a minority government in Parliament if
the SPOe-OeVP governing coalition collapses. He left open the
question of the party's vote on a motion to dissolve the government
and hold an early general election, but he added that FPOe MPs might
vote for it. Strache asserted that OeVP support of an early election
after its resounding victory Sunday in Upper Austria's provincial
election would constitute "a transparent, tactical game." He
declared the FPOe would be ready to enter into a governing coalition
after an early election, arguing that "another grand coalition with
the same old faces," would be "a bad joke. The political dinosaurs,"
Strache claimed, had already failed and needed to be replaced, says
semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung.



Al Qaeda Allegedly Holding 2 Austrians Hostage


3. The militant group "al Qaeda in Islamic North Africa," a branch
of terrorist network al Qaeda, is claiming it has taken hostage two
Austrian tourists in Tunisia. In a message broadcast on al Jazeera
television, the group said they had kidnapped the two Austrians on
February 22, and that they are "in good health." The group is
expected to come forward with conditions for the Austrian man and
woman's release soon, al Jazeera suggests. Meanwhile, the Austrian
Foreign Ministry has explained the audiotape is currently being
analyzed, but it has not confirmed the hostage taking at this point.
The al Qaeda group reportedly said the kidnapping was in retribution
for Western cooperation with Israel.
With regard to the two Austrian tourists, who -- according to Arab
TV network al Jazeera -- were taken hostage by al Qaeda in Tunisia
in February, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Peter Launsky-Tieffenthal
confirmed on ORF radio's early morning news Morgenjournal that the
video message was currently being analyzed. The "safety of the two
alleged hostages" remains at the top of the Ministry's agenda, the
spokesperson added. Centrist daily Die Presse in its report points
out that North Africa is increasingly turning into a preferred
region for dangerous Islamic groups. The organization "al Qaeda in
Islamic North Africa" has succeeded in pooling these forces, the
daily says. In an interview with the newspaper, Islam expert Rolf
Tophoven says the group is "aiming at toppling the moderate
governments in the region. Pro-Western countries like Tunisia and
Morocco are their prime targets." At this early stage, "it is
extremely difficult to say what the group might want to accomplish
with the kidnapping. A large-scale attempt at blackmailing the
Austrian government seems unlikely, as there are no big politically
motivated demands they kidnappers could make. Because of its low
profile with regard to fighting terrorism Austria is not a prime
focus of Al Qaeda." Thus, the kidnapping of tourists "always also
targets the tourist industry as a source of revenue. The terrorists'
underlying strategy is to weaken the countries concerned."


Bomb Attacks in Pakistan


4. At least 15 people have been killed bomb blasts in Lahore in
Pakistan. One explosion occurred outside the police headquarters,
and the second bomb attack was in a mainly residential neighborhood,
according to ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal.


Obama Dismissed Double Ticket Hints


5. Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama has dismissed the
idea of becoming Hillary Clinton's running mate in the US
presidential election. In recent days the Clinton campaign has
repeatedly suggested a "dream ticket" combining the two Democratic
Party candidates might be a possibility. However, Obama said the
proposal made no sense because he was ahead in the race: "I'm not
running for Vice-President, I am running for President of the United
States of America," Austrian media quote. Clinton and Obama are
gearing up for Tuesday's primary in Mississippi, the latest in the
battle for the Democratic Party nomination, ORF online news writes.



UN Criticizes Israeli Housing Plan


6. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon has called on Israel to stop
plans to build hundreds of new homes in the occupied West Bank: "Any
settlement expansion is contrary to Israel's obligations under the
road map and to international law." The Secretary General called on
the government of Israel to "halt settlement expansion" and
reiterated that the "fulfillment of road map obligations by both
parties is an important measure underpinning the political process
between them." Meanwhile, US President George Bush has said he is
sending Vice-President Dick Cheney to the Middle East next week, in
a renewed effort to encourage the Israeli-Palestinian peace process,
says ORF online news.
Kilner