VZCZCXYZ0009
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #0031/01 0081104
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 081104Z JAN 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5898
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 000031 
 
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: January 08, 2007 
 
 
END SPURT OF COALITION TALKS? 
 
¶1. 99 days after the Austrian general elections a decision on a 
grand coalition government seems to be imminent. The final round of 
talks between the SPOe and the OeVP will be held today, following a 
"secret meeting" yesterday of party leaders Alfred Gusenbauer and 
Wolfgang Schuessel to discuss remaining unresolved issues, ORF radio 
early morning news Morgenjournal says. Similarly, mass-circulation 
provincial daily Kleine Zeitung writes that today is "the decisive 
day," which will "pave the way once and for all for Gusenbauer's 
chancellorship." Mass-circulation tabloid Oesterreich runs the 
front-page headline "government to be determined today," adding that 
Schuessel and Gusenbauer in their meeting yesterday reached an 
agreement on all remaining issues, including the Eurofighters and 
the university study fees. While the two parties have agreed to 
split ministry posts evenly between them, a tug-of-war over key 
portfolios continues, according to mass-circulation daily Kurier. 
With the OeVP insisting on the finance portfolio and other key 
ministries, there are speculations that outgoing Chancellor Wolfgang 
Schuessel could remain in government and become the country's next 
Finance Minister, succeeding Karl-Heinz Grasser. OeVP floor leader 
Wilhelm Molterer told Austrian television yesterday that the 
decision "entirely depends on Schuessel," though. 
 
 
AMBASSADOR HOESS HAS DIED 
 
¶2. Fritz Hoess, one of the most prominent and most popular former 
Austrian Ambassadors, died on Friday aged 75, mass-circulation daily 
Kurier and independent political weekly Profil report. Hoess was a 
key figure in the structuring of the Austrian foreign service, and 
served as Austrian Ambassador to Germany and to the United States 
(1987 - 1992). As Ambassador to the US, he pushed - unsuccessfully - 
for the annulment of Washington's decision to put Austrian President 
Kurt Waldheim on the watch-list, Profil says. Hoess was also an avid 
supporter of Austria's European Union membership, as well as of the 
admission into the EU of the new Central and Eastern European 
democracies. 
 
 
 
MORE US TROOPS FOR IRAQ? 
 
¶3. A call by new US Defense Secretary Robert Gates for the 
deployment of an additional 20,000 troops to Iraq could lead to a 
conflict between the White House and Congress, independent 
provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten writes: The Democrats have 
announced their opposition to proposals to increase US troop levels 
in Iraq, and are pushing for a gradual pullout instead. US President 
George Bush has meanwhile made a number of key military appointments 
for the region, thus signaling a reshaping of his Iraq strategy, the 
daily continues. However, instead of the withdrawal suggested by the 
Democrats and the Baker Commission, a re-structuring of the military 
responsibilities in Iraq appears to be in preparation. Premier 
Al-Maliki has announced a new offensive against Sunni and Shiite 
militias in Baghdad: Three Iraqi army brigades are to be redeployed 
from the Kurdish areas in the north to the capital, while the 
multi-national forces, led by the US, are to be mainly responsible 
for the surrounding areas. 
Independent political weekly Profil meanwhile publishes a report 
with several potential scenarios for the future of Iraq: One option 
is that "the US remains and the country becomes stable somehow, 
eventually." Another suggestion, according to the weekly, is the 
emergence of "a federated Iraqi state with a weak central government 
following the gradual pullout of US troops." Or, "the US pulls out, 
and Iraq breaks up into three parts." Iraq could also "partition, 
and become stable after a period of chaos." The weekly also suggests 
that Iraq fragments entirely, becomes a "black hole, a failed state" 
ruled by regional religious leaders and warlords. Finally, Profil 
suggests, Iraq could become "a failed state and destabilize the 
entire region." 
 
 
ISRAEL DENIES IRAN ATTACK REPORTS 
 
¶5. Several Austrian media - sourcing the Sunday Times -- say Israel 
could be planning an attack on the Iranian nuclear facility at 
Natanz, including the use of so-called "bunker buster" weapons and 
low-yield nuclear bombs. Israel, however, has denied these 
allegations, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mark Regev stressing 
the reports were "untrue," liberal daily Der Standard writes. On the 
contrary, Israel was "supporting one hundred percent the 
international community's efforts to bring about a suspension of the 
Iranian nuclear program with the assistance of the UN Security 
Council," the daily quotes the spokesperson. Tehran has meanwhile 
said it would retaliate massively: "Any attack on Iran would result 
in a powerful response," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson 
Mohammed-Ali Hosseini warned, according to the Standard. However, 
the daily also quotes Israeli defense experts as saying they do not 
believe Israel actually has the necessary equipment for such a move. 
 
McCaw