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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #3258/01 3111559
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071559Z NOV 06
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5444
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UNCLAS VIENNA 003258 
 
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: KPAO AU OPRC
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: November 07, 2006 
 
 
SPOe Ultimatum for OeVP 
 
¶1. SPOe leader Alfred Gusenbauer has said he will give the 
Conservatives until Sunday to "come to their senses" and resume 
negotiations on forming a grand coalition government. Meanwhile, 
Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl suggests a minority Social-Democrat-led 
government if a majority coalition cannot be formed. 
Following a meeting of the SPOe leadership, party boss Alfred 
Gusenbauer says he expects "decisive progress" by the weekend 
towards resolving the standoff in the coalition talks, semi-official 
daily Wiener Zeitung writes. The Social Democrats are stepping up 
the pressure on the Conservatives, who called off coalition 
negotiations for the duration of the investigative committees in 
Parliament on the Eurofighter deal and the banking scandals. 
Mass-circulation daily Kurier says Gusenbauer says President Heinz 
Fischer could even recall the current government to pave the way for 
a new one. According to a report on ORF radio early morning news 
Morgenjournal, Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl, a senior figure among 
the Social Democrats, has said that if the OeVP does not return to 
the negotiations within the next two weeks, a minority government 
could run the country during what he called a "transition period" 
until a stable coalition emerged. 
 
 
Jet Bailout Would Cost 1.2 Billion Euros 
 
¶2. Austrian Defense Minister Guenther Platter says Austria would 
lose at least 1.2 billion Euros were it to back out of a deal to 
purchase 18 Eurofighter aircraft. He also warned such a move would 
damage Austria's image and would put the country's national security 
at risk. 
According to semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung, EADS, the company 
which manufactures the planes, has called the 1.2 billion Euro 
cancellation fee "a rough estimate", but said any moves to quit the 
deal three years after it was concluded and less than one year 
before the first aircraft are due to be delivered "would present 
considerable costs" for the Republic of Austria. Defense Minister 
Guenther Platter had been urged to present a report on what quitting 
the deal would cost at a recent extraordinary session of parliament 
called by the Social Democrats, the Greens and the Freedom Party. 
Platter said abrogating the agreement to buy the jet fighters would 
damage Austria's international image as a reliable business partner. 
He also emphasized that the Eurofighters are vital to national 
security, because without the new military jets Austrian airspace 
would be vulnerable. 
 
 
Interview with Ambassador McCaw 
 
¶3. An Austrian newspaper publishes an interview with US Ambassador 
Susan R. McCaw on Tuesday's Congressional elections in the US, 
President George Bush, US foreign policy and the transatlantic 
relations. 
In an interview with mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung, US 
Ambassador to Austria Susan McCaw said the outcome of today's US 
midterm elections is hard to predict. A Democratic victory could 
"mean it would be more difficult for President Bush to realize his 
legislative agenda with a Democratic Congress - more difficult, but 
not impossible. In such a situation, you could expect to see closer 
collaboration between the White House and the Congressional 
leadership. But they would find a way to get things done." After 
all, "neither Congress nor the White House wants to be seen by the 
public as responsible for bringing government to a halt.  As a 
result, Congress and the White House work together on political 
initiatives to reach agreements," the Ambassador emphasized. She 
noted that the "war in Iraq that has been the major foreign policy 
issue during the election campaigns." However, "while we continue to 
discuss and debate the rationale for the war, most observers agree 
that the world is better with Saddam Hussein out of power, and it 
would be a mistake for Coalition forces to pull out of Iraq 
immediately." Both the Republicans and the Democrats "recognize 
(immediate withdrawal) would be a mistake," the Ambassador says and 
adds that therefore she does not believe a Democratic victory would 
bring about a major shift in US foreign policy. 
The transatlantic relationship is "very good, and getting stronger. 
The US and Europe realize we have more to gain by acting together in 
our common interests than by acting separately," Ambassador McCaw 
underscored. 
 
 
US and EU Boost Anti-Terror Cooperation 
 
¶4. The United States and the European Union are looking to boost 
their cooperation in the fight against terrorism. Following talks 
with US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in Washington yesterday, 
EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini announced that a "contact 
group" aimed at improving cooperation among respective justice 
authorities has been set up. 
ORF online news quotes EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini as 
explaining the EU and the US had "decided to form a contact group, 
not to take over bureaucratic tasks, but to look into how our joint 
values and principles can be fit into common proposals." The contact 
group on fighting terrorism is to fight crime in general, he added. 
Meeting with the Commissioner, US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales 
stressed that the contact group would help intensify cooperation of 
the Public Prosecutors' offices in the US and Europe. This "will 
enhance our ability to fight international crime," Gonzales said. 
 
 
 
 
Midterm Elections in the US 
 
¶5. Today's midterm elections in the US are generating massive media 
interest in Austria. The Washington correspondent for one daily 
suggests "there is no doubt President Bush will be a 'lame duck' 
after the vote," in which the Republicans are expected to face 
losses. On top of that, there is the "chance a Democratic majority 
in Congress could launch impeachment proceedings against the 
President." 
All Austrian media report extensively on today's midterm elections 
in the US. According to ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal, 
US President George Bush has been making a final appeal for votes as 
his Republican Party faces losses in the Congressional elections. 
The Democrats, who have lost some of their lead in final opinion 
polls, are focusing on Iraq and what they call a "failed policy," 
ORF radio says. Both parties have sent thousands of volunteers to 
so-called "battleground states," where incumbents may lose. 
Washington correspondent for mass-circulation tabloid Kronen Zeitung 
Hans Janitschek believes that a Democratic victory could bring about 
impeachment proceedings against President Bush. He quotes leading 
Democrat Howard Dean as saying the President had "deceived the 
entire country." Indeed, some Democrats months ago reportedly drew 
up plans for possible impeachment, Janitschek says. The 
correspondent suggests that with a Democratic majority in both 
Houses of Congress, the President could be forced to resign within a 
year. 
In liberal daily Der Standard, foreign affairs writer Christoph 
Winder writes about the "political consequences of a potential 
Democratic victory in Congress." Citing the US system of "checks and 
balances," Winder points to the "massive Republican excess of power 
not only in Congress, but in other key areas" of the US government 
and judiciary - an argument often cited by the Democrats in the 
campaign. According to Winder, Democrats complain that the system of 
checks and balances, although not overturned, has been weakened 
considerably under a "Republican Rubber Stamp Congress," which 
dutifully implements the President's proposals instead of resisting 
his power ambitions. The writer adds that, according to opinion 
polls, the Republican majority could end today. Aside from the 
symbolic defeat, this could have a number of political consequences, 
including attempts by the Democrats to reverse tax cuts for the 
super rich, or to scrutinize the Bush administration's performance 
 
in the US-led Iraq war, Winder writes. 
 
 
Discord after Saddam Hussein Verdict 
 
¶6. The death sentence for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein is 
causing new disagreement between the Europe and the US. The European 
Union and several member states have urged the Iraqi government not 
to carry out the death sentence. The US has reacted "with 
irritation" to this move. 
Following the Iraqi tribunal's pronunciation of the death sentence 
for Saddam Hussein, the European Union, a number of its member 
states and heads of government including German Chancellor Angela 
Merkel, and the UN Human Rights Commission have urged Iraq to 
suspend the death sentence, ORF online news reports. Meanwhile, 
according to ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal, US 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has suggested European countries 
 
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refrain from calling on Iraq not to execute Saddam Hussein. Her 
comments came after British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Finland's EU 
Presidency, France and Italy all expressed opposition to the death 
penalty. Rice told the Fox network that it was a decision for Iraq. 
"If you've watched the testimonies of these people who lost family 
members, who found mass graves, people who suffered at the hands of 
Saddam his henchmen, you know that this is very much an Iraqi 
process," ORF radio quotes the Secretary of State. 
Phillips