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TAGS: KPAO AU OPRC
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: January 05, 2007 
 
 
Gusenbauer Wants Movement from OeVP 
 
¶1. SPOe boss Alfred Gusenbauer is taking a tough stance towards his 
party's potential future coalition partner OeVP: Speaking on 
Thursday, he stressed the Conservatives would have to "budge" on the 
Eurofighter purchase and university tuition fees, and "think of 
something other than simply saying no" to SPOe proposals. 
Simultaneously, the SPOe chairperson signaled he is ready to 
compromise on some issues, Austrian media report. 
According to Austrian political analyst Peter Filzmaier, the Social 
Democrats' victory in the October 1 general election gave party 
leader Alfred Gusenbauer the opportunity to "implement anything he 
wants" within the SPOe. He "has a free hand, both with regard to the 
outcome of the negotiations and the choice of his cabinet team," the 
expert told semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung. The first six months 
in office will determine Gusenbauer's "acceptance as Chancellor and 
define his image," Filzmaier added. 
Meanwhile, mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich speculates that 
Finance Minister Karl-Heinz Grasser could resign today and take up 
investment banking in London, although - according to the daily -- 
Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel in a meeting today will try to 
persuade Grasser to stay on as Vice-Chancellor or as Finance 
Minister for another year. 
ORF online news writes about a tug-of-war between the OeVP and the 
SPOe over key ministries, including the finance portfolios, with 
both parties insisting they have a claim to these posts. 
 
 
EU Wants to Revive Mideast Quartet 
 
¶2. If it wants to help resolve the Middle East conflict, the 
European Union must speak with one voice, EU Council President 
Angela Merkel has declared. The Middle East also topped the agenda 
during her meeting in the US with President Bush. Meanwhile, 
following a new surge of violence in the region, rival Palestinian 
factions Hamas and Fatah said they want to defuse the conflict and 
re-launch their dialogue. 
Centrist daily Die Presse analyzes German Chancellor Angela Merkel's 
current visit to the United States. While Merkel, as EU Council 
President is pushing for a new initiative in the Middle East peace 
process, and wants to "revive the comatose Miseast Quartet," 
"positive signals from the US on the issue have yet to materialize." 
Even "Bush buddy" Tony Blair failed to get the US more deeply 
committed as mediators between Israel and the Palestinians, the 
Presse says and adds that now it is up to Merkel to "pester Bush 
with a plan for a new Mideast peace concept." The German Chancellor, 
it seems, "won't be deterred from her Middle East enthusiasm," the 
daily concludes, pointing to Merkel's upcoming trips in February to 
Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait. 
 
 
Iraq Video Authentic 
 
¶3. Video footage showing Austrian national Bert Nussbaumer and four 
of his American colleagues, kidnapped in Iraq in November, is 
authentic, the Austrian Foreign Ministry confirms, following 
analysis of the material. Observers say the fact that a tape has 
materialized could indicate that negotiations for the hostages' 
release are under way, and that demands for ransom payments have 
been made. 
All Austrian media continue to report on the emergence of the video 
tape, seven weeks after Bert Nussbaumer and his four US colleagues 
were abducted near Basra in southern Iraq. ORF radio early morning 
news Morgenjournal says the kidnapping was "not an isolated case. 
Most kidnappers want money, and there are companies that specialize 
in negotiating with them." The Nussbaumer case was "just one of 
many," according to a German expert, who points out there are 
"numerous criminal groups in Iraq which have turned kidnappings into 
a form of business." The tape suggests that ransom negotiations with 
the kidnappers are underway.  Ransom demands are usually addressed 
to the hostages' employers, the expert continues. Mass-circulation 
tabloid Oesterreich meanwhile speculates an alleged ransom demand 
may amount to $10 million. 
 
 
Bush on Saddam Hussein Execution 
 
¶4. US President George Bush has criticized the circumstances of 
former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's execution. Speaking at a 
press conference in Washington yesterday, he said he "wished the 
process had been more dignified." However, Saddam Hussein had been 
brought to justice - a justice he had denied to thousands of his 
victims, the US President added. 
According to ORF online news, the US President discussed Saddam 
Hussein's execution with Iraqi Premier Nuri Al-Maliki. Bush had also 
said he would welcome an Iraqi investigation into the circumstances 
surrounding the hanging and its unauthorized filming, ORF online 
quotes White House spokesperson Tony Snow. According to ORF radio, 
investigators have now identified two guards who illicitly filmed 
the execution. 
In liberal daily Der Standard, foreign editor Gudrun Harrer comments 
on the potential consequences for Iraq and the US of the Saddam 
Hussein execution: "The execution in Baghdad last Saturday not only 
ended Saddam Hussein's life, but may also have broken the Shiite-led 
Iraqi government's neck. At a minimum, it has been severely injured. 
Postponing the next two executions (...) will not suffice as crisis 
management; nor will the arrest of two guards - particularly since, 
according to a statement by a state prosecutor present at Saddam 
Hussein's hanging, it wasn't the guards but high-ranking officials 
who filmed the undignified scenes. Premier Nuri al-Maliki has a lot 
to do to make up for the loss of image he has suffered at home and 
abroad. His initiative for "national reconciliation" between the 
Sunnis and the Shiites - shaky business at the best of times - will 
be much harder to implement now. The circle of those embracing 
reconciliation has shrunk even further. Getting the Sunnis away from 
their perceived role as victims of the Shiites - a role further 
reinforced by Saturday's events - will require more than a softening 
of the radical de-Baathification laws. The Maliki government will 
pay in hard political currency for the damage done in the Sunni 
world. The United States has made a tremendous effort in the past 
few months to persuade the Sunni Gulf States to become more engaged 
in Iraq and to give more support to the country's Shiite-dominated 
government. What little hope there was for that will now have to be 
buried altogether. Most detrimental, however, will be the loss of 
confidence on the part of the US, where doubts are likely to 
increase whether Maliki is the right partner for them." 
 
 
Pelosi Calls for New Iraq Strategy 
 
¶5. The new speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, 
has called for America to begin redeploying its troops from Iraq. 
Speaking at the inaugural session of the new Congress, now 
controlled by the Democrats for the first time in twelve years, 
Pelosi also stressed President Bush must come up with a new strategy 
in Iraq. Several Austrian media comment on the Democratic 
congressional majority, and describe as a "milestone" the fact that 
the House of Representatives is led by a female Speaker for the 
first time in history. 
ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal quotes Pelosi as saying 
it is "the responsibility of the President to articulate a new plan 
for Iraq that makes it clear to the Iraqis that they must defend 
their own streets. A plan that promotes stability in the region, and 
a plan that allows us to responsibly redeploy our troops." Liberal 
daily Der Standard describes Pelosi's assumption of office as 
"marking a turning point in US domestic policy." 
Meanwhile, President Bush has said he is working on reshaping his 
strategy for Iraq. He will be "ready to outline a strategy sometime 
next week that will help the Iraqis achieve the objective of a 
country that can govern, sustain and defend itself," ORF radio 
quotes. Senior administration officials have suggested the President 
might make a number of appointments as part of his strategy for 
Iraq. These include a new top ground commander there and the 
appointment of current US Ambassador to Baghdad Zalmay Khalilzad as 
new Ambassador to the United Nations. 
McCaw