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SIPDIS 
 
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WHITEHOUSE FOR NSC/WEUROPE 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO AU OPRC
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: November 15, 2006 
 
 
Election Contest to Open Doors for SPOe, Greens? 
 
¶1. The KPOe and Hans-Peter Martin's List are reportedly considering 
contesting the October 1 elections because the BZOe ran under 
different names in Carinthia province and at the national level. 
Should the Austrian Constitutional Court rule that the BZOe lose its 
representation in Parliament, the way would be clear for a 
SPOe-Greens coalition, an Austrian daily suggests: with 93 seats, 
the two parties would have a slight majority in Parliament. 
Semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung speculates that an election 
contest could still make a Social Democrat-Greens majority in 
Parliament possible. Both the Austrian Communist Party and maverick 
MEP Hans-Peter Martin's List have said they are considering filing a 
motion to contest the general election result before the Friday 
deadline, claiming the BZOe's result is invalid: Since the Party ran 
as "Die Freiheitlichen in Kaernten - Liste Joerg Haider - BZOe" in 
Carinthia, and as "Die Freiheitlichen - Liste Westenthaler - BZOe" 
at the national level, the two groups would have to be treated as 
two individual parties and their results counted separately, the 
KPOe and Martin argue. Should the Constitutional Court rule in favor 
of the motion, the two BZOe groups would fall short of the 4- 
percent margin and lose their seats in Parliament, the daily 
explains. This, in turn, would require a redistribution of seats and 
provide the SPOe and the Greens with a slight parliamentary majority 
over the OeVP and the FPOe. 
 
 
Minority Government Imminent? 
 
¶2. According to an Austrian daily, SPOe leader Alfred Gusenbauer 
will ask President Heinz Fischer to call for the formation of a 
minority government in their meeting on Monday. While the Social 
Democrats are said to be keeping a list for the "Gusenbauer 
cabinet", a survey by polling institute Gallup suggests that the 
majority of Austrians are currently backing a SPOe-led minority 
government. 
Mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich says in a front-page report 
that Thursday is the last chance for the OeVP to agree to resume 
negotiations with the Social Democrats on forming a grand coalition 
government. Should they pass up this opportunity, Alfred Gusenbauer 
could ask the President next week to charge him with forming a 
minority government led by the SPOe, Social Democrats' party manager 
Norbert Darabos and Vienna Mayor Michael Haeupl stated. 
Meanwhile, a survey by polling institute Gallup shows that 57 
percent of Austrians would favor a SPOe-led minority government, 
should a grand coalition not be formed. In addition, 40 percent want 
Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel to step down if the SPOe-OeVP 
coalition talks fail for good. Voters' support at this point is 
strongest for the Social Democrats, who would get 41 percent if 
elections were held this Sunday. The OeVP would currently get 33 
percent of the votes, the Greens 12 percent, the FPOe ten and the 
BZOe three percent, according to the survey. 
 
 
Van der Bellen Urges Elections 
 
¶3. Speaking on ORF TV last night, the leader of the Austrian Greens, 
Alexander Van der Bellen, called for new elections as soon as 
possible, if the Social Democrats and the People's Party fail to 
agree on forming a grand coalition. 
Speaking on ORF TV's Tuesday evening political program Report, 
Greens leader Alexander Van der Bellen said the formation of a 
Social-Democrat-led minority government was no alternative to an 
agreement between the SPOe and the OeVP, as such a government would 
only delay the Austrian voters' likely return to the polls. 
Nonetheless, his party would not table a motion for new elections at 
a special parliamentary session scheduled for Friday. Vander Bellen 
also dismissed the idea of a three-party-coalition. 
 
 
Turkish EU Membership Bid 
 
¶4. Officially, at least, Turkey is not taking very seriously the 
Austrian Foreign Minister's proposal earlier this week for a "time 
out" in negotiations with Ankara over EU membership, an Austrian 
daily writes. Simultaneously, Turkey is warning a potential halt in 
membership talks might have repercussions all over Europe and 
destabilize the EU. 
Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik's suggestion for a "time 
out " in EU membership negotiations with Turkey because of Ankara's 
refusal to recognize Cyprus has not had much impact in the Turkish 
media and political circles, liberal daily Der Standard writes. 
Apparently, they have grown used to Austria's highly critical views 
on Turkish EU membership, the daily adds. Meanwhile, the Turkish 
Foreign Ministry -- with the assistance of the Finnish EU Presidency 
-- is apparently preparing a push for negotiations with Cyprus: A 
ministry spokesperson said Ankara expected new suggestions from 
Helsinki soon. At the same time, Turkey's chief EU negotiator Ali 
Babacan warned in a panel discussion in Brussels that a suspension 
of membership talks would not only have negative consequences for 
Turkey and the European Union, but could also further destabilize 
the entire southeastern part of the EU, the Standard writes. 
 
 
IAEA Report Accuses Iran 
 
¶5. The IAEA in a report says it has found new traces of plutonium 
and enriched uranium in Iran at a nuclear waste facility. Officials 
say the finding does not confirm Iran has a nuclear weapons program. 
Meanwhile, US Under Secretary of State Nicholas Burns said the 
report would be closely studied in Washington. 
According to ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal, the report 
on plutonium and enriched uranium finds in Iran by inspectors from 
the UN's nuclear watchdog working in the country stressed that the 
IAEA is currently investigating explanations provided by Tehran on 
the uranium and plutonium traces. US Under Secretary of State 
Nicholas Burns is quoted on ORF radio as emphasizing that the US is 
"concerned by it. It adds further to our concern that the United 
Nations Security Council has to act as quickly as possible - more 
quickly than it is now deliberating. So we hope the Iranian 
government will heed the warning that was issued by the 
International Atomic Energy Agency today." The report will be 
debated at the next meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in 
Vienna. 
 
 
Iraq Torture Allegations 
 
¶6. UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak told an Austrian 
daily that "torture in Iraq these days is worse than under Saddam 
Hussein." He deplored the "massive extent of torture and extreme 
violence" in Iraq, with all factions fighting each other in what he 
described as "ethnic cleansings." 
Torture practices in Iraq are worse today than under Saddam Hussein, 
UN special rapporteur on torture Manfred Nowak told mass-circulation 
provincial daily Kleine Zeitung: "Previously, you more or less knew 
who was in danger - namely those people who questioned Saddam's 
absolute rule, minorities and the Shiites. These days, you just 
can't be sure. Today, it's Shiites against Sunnis, and Sunnis 
against Shiites. We are witnessing ethnic cleansings." In addition, 
international terrorist groups and criminals were also active in 
Iraq, and some Iraqi ministries had their holding places where 
massive torture was commonplace, Nowak says. The death sentence for 
Saddam Hussein is unlikely to defuse the situation, Nowak believes. 
The death penalty is not fair punishment, "it is simply inhumane." 
Moreover, he warned, the verdict looked too much like an act of 
revenge, "which will lead to more violence rather than less." 
Meanwhile, according to semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung, an 
international lawyers' group has asked Germany's Federal Prosecution 
Office in Karlsruhe to sue former US Defense Secretary Donald 
Rumsfeld to prosecute him for war crimes, citing alleged prisoner 
abuse in Iraq and Guantanamo Bay. The complaint was filed on behalf 
of a Saudi man held in Cuba and 11 Iraqis held in Baghdad. German 
law allows the pursuit of cases originating anywhere in the world. 
McCaw