SPO LETTER ON EU POLICY SHIFT SPOTLIGHTS TABLOID'S

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 000984

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR EUR/AGS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV AU
SUBJECT: SPO LETTER ON EU POLICY SHIFT SPOTLIGHTS TABLOID'S
POLITICAL INFLUENCE IN AUSTRIA

Ref: Vienna 942


1. (U) Summary: When Austrian Chancellor Gusenbauer and SPO party
leader Werner Faymann chose to announce their party's new policy on
EU referenda in a June 26 letter to the mass tabloid Kronen Zeitung,
setting in motion a chain of events that led to the collapse of the
government, the move highlighted the enduring political influence of
Austria's largest newspaper. The SPO leaders informed the Kronen
Zeitung that henceforth the traditionally pro-EU party would call
for referenda on all EU treaties. Kronen Zeitung had been waging an
aggressive campaign against the Lisbon Treaty for months prior to
its ratification by the Austrian Parliament, and many politicians
and pundits accused the SPO leaders of seeking an alliance with the
paper in a desperate attempt to lure voters. The influence of
Kronen Zeitung - which often has an anti-U.S. slant -- is nothing
new; Austrian politicians have long believed the paper can shape
public opinion. End Summary.

Anti-EU Campaign
--------------


2. (U) The June 26 letter from the two SPO leaders (reftel)
announcing the new EU policy followed a months-long campaign by
Kronen Zeitung against the Lisbon Treaty, which the Austrian
Parliament ratified in April. The tabloid's controversial
publisher and part owner, the octogenarian Hans Dichand, personally
took part in at least one public demonstration against the treaty; a
front page photo in his tabloid even featured him along with other
protestors.


3. (U) The SPO's abrupt departure from its traditionally EU-friendly
policies infuriated the party's junior coalition partner, the OVP,
as well as the opposition parties, the media pundits, and even some
within the SPO. This move, in fact, proved the proximate cause for
the collapse of the governing Grand Coalition on July 7. A number
of critics angrily accused the SPO leadership of adopting Kronen
Zeitung's aggressively anti-EU posture in a desperate attempt to
improve the SPO's flagging political fortunes.


4. (U) The daily regularly features columns, some written by Dichand
himself, and news articles criticizing the EU. During the paper's
campaign against the Lisbon Treaty, approval ratings for the EU
among Austrians dipped to a record low of 28 percent, the lowest in
the EU. One of the most prominent and consistent EU bashers in
Kronen Zeitung is EU whistleblower Hans Peter Martin. A former
investigative journalist with Germany's Der Spiegel, Martin is an
Austrian EU parliamentarian who exposed rampant abuse by a number of
fellow EU MPs who were illegally pocketing per diem funds. Martin
contributes frequent columns to Kronen Zeitung pillorying EU
bureaucrats as out of touch with ordinary citizens.


5. (SBU) Adding to the Kronen Zeitung's anti-EU chorus is a steady
flow of letters to the editor (some even written in verse) which are
given ample space each day in the letters to the editor section.
Critics often accuse the paper's staff of writing these letters
under fictitious names. However, it appears that the letters, in
large part at least, are genuine; MFA contacts tell us that FM
Plassnik several months ago directed her staff to begin contacting
the authors of each anti-EU letter to the paper to discuss their
concerns. The MFA confirmed that the letters come from actual
readers.

FM Tangles with Tabloid
--------------


6. (U) FM Plassnik (of the OVP) wrote an open letter to Kronen
Zeitung June 30 in which she asserted that Dichand had told her in a
2007 meeting that he would throw his weight behind the OVP and "save
the party" if the OVP would call for a national referendum on the
Lisbon Treaty. Plassnik wrote that she refused this "unethical
offer" and excoriated Dichand for stoking "Europhobia" in Austria.
Unperturbed, the Kronen Zeitung responded the next day with a column
ridiculing Plassnik and a series of letters to the editor accusing
Plassnik of being "arrogant" and "aloof."

Wide, Often Anti-U.S. Influence
--------------


7. (U) These events have highlighted the opinion making power of the
Kronen Zeitung and its crusading publisher. The tabloid's
circulation, 967,000 Monday-Saturday and 1.6 million on Sunday, is
by far Austria's largest. It reaches an estimated three million
readers daily, dwarfing the much smaller readership of higher-brow
Vienna dailies such as the centrist Die Presse (circulation 125,000)
and liberal-left Der Standard (circulation 120,000). The tabloid is
read by more than 40 percent of all newspaper readers in Austria.
Such a market share, observers say, means the Kronen Zeitung may
have the highest newspaper readership penetration in the world. At

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any rate, it is surely among the highest.


8. (U) The paper is consistently critical of the U.S. Administration
and its policies. Its columnists and news articles delight in
pummeling President Bush and U.S. foreign policy. Many of the
world's ills are laid at America's doorstep, and coverage and
commentary often are slanted. For instance, when President Bush
nominated a prominent New York businessman as Ambassador to Austria
in late 2007 (the nominee later withdrew),the tabloid's then-U.S.
correspondent published a negative profile of the nominee that
featured rumor and innuendo. The paper soon carried a letter from
the Embassy's Charge' d'Affaires lambasting the attack and
puncturing its assertions. Stories of crime and societal
dysfunction from AMERICA likewise are highlighted in the daily.
America's popular culture -- such as the love lives of Hollywood
stars -- is also covered thoroughly. Like other Austrian media,
however, the Kronen Zeitung has followed the 2008 U.S. presidential
election process with interest and, on occasion, even made favorable
comments about both major candidates.

Comment: A Force to be Reckoned With
-------------- --------------


9. (U) Dichand and his paper have deliberately sought to shape
Austrian public opinion for years, often with real impact.
Politicians continue to believe Kronen Zeitung's support - or
opposition - can be critical. Cabinet ministers often respond
immediately to critical stories or commentary in the tabloid with
letters to the editor. When Austria's parliament ratified the
Lisbon Treaty over the tabloid's objections, some Austrian media
speculated that the newspaper had lost some of its influence.
However, the paper's prominent role in the SPO's recent about-face
on EU policy has silenced such speculation. Kronen Zeitung and its
aging publisher retain a unique role in shaping Austrian public
opinion - and politicians and media competitors know it.