null
Dayna R Robison  09/20/2006 11:02:30 AM  From  DB/Inbox:  Dayna R Robison

Cable 
Text:                                                                                                                                                       
UNCLAS        VIENNA 02774

SIPDIS
CXVIENNA:
    ACTION: PAO
    INFO:   REVIEW DCM AMB DAO POLEC

DISSEMINATION: PAO
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: PAO: WWANLUND
DRAFTED: VBARTL
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCVII360
PP RUEHC RUEKJCS RHEHAAA
DE RUEHVI #2774/01 2611154
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181154Z SEP 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4972
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 VIENNA 002774 
 
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: KPAO AU OPRC
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: September 18, 2006 
 
 
Bawag Scandal Causes Campaign Turbulence 
 
¶1. The Bawag scandal added yet another layer of intrigue when it was 
revealed that former OeVP boss Josef Taus visited former Bawag boss 
Helmut Elsner shortly before he was arrested at his estate in 
France. The opposition is demanding more details about the nature of 
the visit; Taus says his meeting with Elsner was private and 
unrelated to business. 
Former OeVP boss Taus has known Elsner for decades and also has 
maintained private business connections with him, writes mass 
circulation tabloid "Neue Kronenzeitung." Taus denied he helped 
Elsner out with cash. For the SPOe, the Taus-Elsner meeting was 
certainly a campaign gift, but is was likewise sharply criticized by 
FPOe and Greens. The Greens noted that the OeVP twice rejected calls 
to have Taus interrogated by the Bawag investigation committee, and 
said that this fact "takes on new significance after the Taus-Elsner 
meeting." 
 
Sharp SPOe Attacks on Public Prosecutor 
 
¶2. The SPOe sees a conspiracy between the OeVP and the public 
prosecutor investigating the Bawag affair. The party charges he gave 
details concerning contributions to the SPOe made by Wolfgang 
Flttl, one of the main suspects in the Bawag scandal. The SPOe 
maintains this is a pending investigation of which no details ought 
to have been made public. 
Centrist daily "Die Presse" reports that SPOe spokesman Josef Cap 
spoke in this connection of a "justice scandal" - the public 
prosecutor was letting himself be manipulated by the OeVP, he said. 
Minister of Justice Karin Gastinger has rejected the charges. In a 
letter to Federal President Heinz Fischer, she called on him for 
support in "Maintaining the trust of the Austrian population in the 
Austrian constitutional state." However, according to mass 
circulation daily "Kurier," the Federal President has declined the 
attempt to drag him into the election campaign and his spokesman 
indirectly agreed with the SPOe criticism. 
 
Schuessel Demands Consensus on Town Sign Issue 
 
¶3. At the 120th anniversary celebration of the Carinthian Farmers' 
Association, Federal Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel demanded that 
Carinthian Governor Joerg Haider follow the general consensus on 
town signs after the national elections. Schuessel also predicted 
the elections will be about more than  political programs - they 
will be about "personalities, who has the better ideas and concepts, 
and political style." 
 
 
On the Brink of Civil War 
 
¶4. Gudrun Harrer, foreign policy editor for independent daily "Der 
Standard" acted as Special Envoy of the Austrian EU presidency and 
Charge d'Affaires of the Austrian embassy in Baghdad during the 
first half of 2006. Her report concludes that, more than three years 
after the American invasion, Iraq has still not reached the turning 
point - inter-religious violence still prevails. 
The situation has gotten worse - that is the tenor of Gudrun 
Harrer's Iraq report. What has taken place is a shift in focus:  The 
center of violence has moved away from the so-called insurgency 
toward inter-religious violence. In the wake of this development, 
Baghdad, the large Sunni-Shiite center, has become the battlefield 
where groups kill members of other groups. It's Iraqis against 
Iraqis now - the attacks on the Shiite mosque in Samarra in February 
was the turning point which led from a submerged to an open 
conflict. The political process, which took place under US pressure, 
has in a way made things worse, since it alienated the Shiites, who 
suspect that the US is primarily interested in puling the Sunnis 
into its camp and that the price for that could be to give up 
protection of the Shiites. Therefore, the Shiites are prepared to 
protect themselves with the help of militia. Under the government 
program, the militia groups are to be disarmed  - however, until 
Iraq steps back from the brink of civil war that will be difficult. 
 
 
 
Conservatives Come to Power in Sweden 
 
¶5. After 12 years of Social Democratic government, Sweden has opted 
for change:  the conservative alliance headed by Fredrik Reinfeldt 
won 48.1 percent of the votes; the Social Democrats got 46.2 
percent.  Current Prime Minister Gran Persson ahs already 
resigned. 
Reinfeldt's alliance, consisting of Liberal People's Party, Centrist 
Party, and Christian Democrats, embarked on the election campaign 
promising the voters a tax reduction, which it plans to finance 
through cuts in unemployment benefits. Persson, who advocated a 
strong welfare state, was held by the Swedes to be lacking in new 
ideas. His failure is also said to indicate that Swedish voters want 
changes in the Welfare system, writes ORF online. As Prime Minister, 
Reinfeldt says he would privatize state-owned companies. Selling the 
state's share in enterprises such as Bank Nordea or the airline SAS 
could earn the government billions. Reinfeldt is also planning to 
bring Sweden closer to the EU - however, there will be no referendum 
about introducing the euro during the next four years. 
 
Provincial Elections in Germany 
 
¶6. The provincial elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern 
(M-V) brought losses for the CDU of Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel 
in both provinces. The ruling Social Democrats were able to increase 
their margin in Berlin, although they lost 10.4 percent compared to 
the last election in M-V. Also in M-V, the neo-Nazi NPD party won 
7.3 percent and so will be in the next provincial parliament. 
In Berlin, meager election results for the Leftist Party could 
prompt Mayor Klaus Wowereit to give preference to the Greens as 
coalition partner since they generated better results. In M-V, 
acting SPD Governor Harald Ringstorff will probably be able to 
continue governing together with the Leftist Party, since the CDU 
will probably not find a coalition partner except for the SPD 
itself, writes independent daily "Der Standard." The rise of the NPD 
is a matter of grave concern - M-V will be the second German 
province after Sachsen where the NPD will have seats in parliament - 
the neo-Nazi party scores especially with young voters, where the 
approval rate is 12 percent. About 76 percent of the party's voters 
opt for the NPD "out of protest." there will be no referendum about 
introducing the euro during the next four years. 
 
Pope Regrets 
 
¶7. After fierce protests and assassination threats caused by his 
statements regarding violence and Islam, the Pope is now trying to 
placate his critics - he voiced his "vivid regret" over his speech 
and expressed the hope that his words would suffice to appease 
Muslims. Indeed, Muslim associations in Europe have hailed the 
Pope's regrets an "important step." 
The Pope has been threatened with murder after his critical 
statement on Islam, reports mass circulation daily "Kurier." 
Assassination threats and a video, which is ascribed to al-Qaida, 
has been circulated via internet, and in Somalia, fundamentalists 
have embarked on a "Pope hunt." An Italian nun was murdered in 
Mogadishu. Terror experts are taking the threats seriously, writes 
mass circulation provincial daily "Kleine Zeitung." The security 
authorities have drastically enhanced surveillance and security 
checks in the Vatican. there will be no referendum about introducing 
the euro during the next four years. 
 
Start of IAEA General Conference 
 
¶8. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will begin its 
annual General Conference in Vienna on Monday. Apart from the 
Iranian nuclear issue, the establishment of a nuclear fuel bank, in 
which those states in possession of nuclear technology could provide 
enriched uranium for nuclear power plants in all countries, will be 
an important topic. 
 
Newly Revived Anti-US Alliance 
 
¶9. Shortly before the start of the UN General Assembly, the 
non-aligned nations, at a summit meeting in Havana, welded together 
an anti-US alliance aimed at reviving the ailing movement. Bolivia, 
Venezuela, and Cuba were assured of moral support against US 
meddling into their internal affairs. Iran's right to pursue a 
nuclear program for peaceful purposes was confirmed, but they were 
also called upon to cooperate with the IAEA. 
The main winners of the summit were host Cuba, which had undertaken 
to lend to the movement a new, anti-imperialist touch. Venezuela's 
President Hugo Chavez could likewise be satisfied:  He got further 
support for Venezuela's campaign to be a non-permanent member of the 
UN Security Council and announced that he already had the necessary 
votes.  This announcement met with sharp criticism from the US, 
which holds Chavez to be a communist, anti-American troublemaker. In 
an analysis of the event, independent daily "Der Standard" is 
cautious with predictions about the durability of the renaissance of 
the non-aligned states. there will be no referendum about 
introducing the euro during the next four years. 
McCaw