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DE RUEHVI #0212/01 0291519
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P 291519Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
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UNCLAS VIENNA 000212 
 
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SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, INR/EU, AND EUR/PPD FOR YVETTE SAINT-ANDRE 
 
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E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO AU OPRC
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: January 27, 2007 
 
 
Strache Photos: Waiting for an Explanation 
 
¶1. FPOe boss Heinz-Christian Strache is expected to give what he 
called an "unambiguous and definite statement" on the series of 
controversial photos showing him during a paintball game and giving 
a neo-Nazi salute, which emerged last week. FPOe sources at the 
weekend claimed the pictures originated with far-right neo-Nazi 
circles, who "want to cause the Freedom Party trouble." 
Independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten says the 
controversy over the "war games" and neo-Nazi photos is putting 
pressure on FPOe leader Strache. In an interview with the daily, 
former FPOe MP Helene Partik-Pabl harshly attacked Strache, arguing 
that if he, Ewald Stadler and Andreas Moelzer had been "eliminated 
from the party" in time, the split between the FPOe and the BZOe and 
the current Freedom Party crisis might have been avoided. 
The Strache photos have meanwhile also led to a quarrel between the 
coalition partners SPOe and OeVP, mass-circulation daily Kurier 
writes in a front-page report. After Vice-Chancellor Wilhelm 
Molterer from the People's Party on Sunday criticized the Social 
Democrats for their "far too mild assessment" of the images, SPOe 
party manager Josef Kalina accused the OeVP of hypocrisy. After all, 
Kalina added, it was the OeVP that had originally brought the FPOe 
into the government. 
 
 
Expensive Jets 
 
¶2. With cost of up to 5 billion Euros, instead of about 2 billions, 
the Eurofighter jets for Austria are going to be more than twice as 
expensive as initially calculated, the head of the Eurofighter 
parliamentary investigative committee, Peter Pilz from the Greens, 
told Austrian television. 
Speaking on ORF TV's Sunday morning program Meet the Press, Peter 
Pilz, the Green Party security spokesperson and head of the 
parliamentary investigative committee looking into the purchase deal 
for the Austrian Eurofighter interceptors, suggested that according 
to his findings and calculations, the deal would be more than twice 
as costly as initially thought. In addition to the purchase price, 
Pilz had added financing and operating expenses, as well as the 
money needed for the jets' modifications and equipment, 
mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich explains. The Greens MP 
stressed he is still convinced a cancellation of the purchase 
contract remains a feasible option. Pilz's statements have caused 
quite a stir in the investigative committee, mass-circulation 
tabloid Kronen Zeitung says on its front page. 
 
 
More than 250 Killed in Iraq 
 
¶3. Iraqi officials say between 250 and 300 Sunni insurgents have 
been killed in a day-long battle around the holy city of Najaf. The 
militants had allegedly been planning to kill pilgrims at the Shiite 
Muslim religious festival of Ashura, which as been accompanied by a 
wave of violence. US and Iraqi troops were involved in the battle. 
All Austrian media continue to report on the situation in Iraq, 
where hundreds of Sunni insurgents were killed in an offensive at 
the weekend by US and Iraqi forces in an effort to prevent a 
large-scale attack during the religious Ashura festival 
celebrations. 
Meanwhile, in the US, tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated 
in Washington DC on Sunday, demanding the withdrawal of US troops 
from Iraq, major Austrian media say. The protests, however, are 
"leaving the US President cold," who emphasized he is going to 
follow through with his Iraq strategy, liberal daily Der Standard 
writes. 
In centrist daily Die Presse, Washington correspondent Norbert Rief 
suggests the protests were aimed not only against President Bush, 
but also against Congress, where the demonstrators expect the 
Democratic majority to use its power to oppose the President's Iraq 
policy and end the war. 
 
 
Saudi Arabia to Mediate in Palestinian Conflict 
 
¶4. Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah has invited rival Palestinian 
leaders to a meeting in Mecca in an attempt to end factional 
fighting among Palestinians. At least 24 people have died over the 
last three days in clashes between the governing Hamas faction and 
its rival Fatah. Hamas and Fatah have accepted the invitation, but 
as yet no date has been set for the meeting. 
"The Gaza Strip is burning, headlines independent provincial daily 
Salzburger Nachrichten, and writes that in a "fratricidal war," 
radical Islamic Hamas and the secular Fatah are vying for power. 
 
Last weekend saw the worst fighting between supporters of the two 
factions since the founding of the Palestinian autonomous 
authorities - despite urgent calls for a cease-fire from both the 
Fatah and Hamas leadership. In the face of increasing violence, 
talks about the formation of a unity government have been postponed 
indefinitely, the daily days and quotes an unidentified advisor of 
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who suggests the "developments 
have convinced Hamas it will win its fight for survival against 
Fatah." 
 
 
Iran to Boost Influence in Iraq 
 
¶5. According to its Ambassador in Baghdad, Iran wants to step up its 
military and economic influence in Iraq. Ambassador Hassan Kasemi 
Qumi told the New York Times that Tehran is prepared to support 
Iraqi forces with drill sergeants and equipment in their efforts to 
stabilize the country. Iran also wants to become more engaged in 
Iraqi reconstruction efforts. 
While several Austrian media are sourcing the New York Times as 
reporting Iran may be pushing to step up its influence in Iraq - a 
development which is likely to lead to a further estrangement 
between Washington and Tehran - mass-circulation daily Kurier writes 
that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the country's radical-populist President 
is facing increasing open resistance at home. As powerfully eloquent 
as Ahmadinejad may appear abroad, it is not he who is calling the 
shots in Iran, the daily's foreign affairs writer Konrad Kramar 
suggests. Resentment against the "inconvenient puppet" they raised 
to power and his confrontation course is spreading among the 
country's Mullahs led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, says the Kurier. 
Via a newspaper, Khamenei recently advised Ahmadinejad to "stay out 
of" the Iranian nuclear program. The Mullahs are angered about their 
President's appearances on the international stage, which have 
caused even Russia and China to distance themselves from Tehran, 
thus enabling UN sanctions. Among Iranians, Ahmadinejad's popularity 
is also on the decline: More than a year after his election victory, 
improvements he promised have failed to materialize, while inflation 
and prices continue to rise. 
McCaw