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TAGS: KPAO AU OPRC
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: March 01, 2007 
 
 
Bures, Hahn to Be Sworn In 
 
¶1. Minister for Women's Issues Doris Bures of the SPOe and Science 
Minister Johannes Hahn of the OeVP are the last two members of the 
coalition cabinet to be officially sworn in by President Heinz 
Fischer today. The two have been ministers without portfolio since 
inauguration of the SPOe-OeVP government in January, as their 
ministries did not exist under the former administration and the law 
providing for them had to be passed first, ORF online news writes. 
 
 
Darabos Criticizes Budget 
 
¶2. Defense Minister Norbert Darabos (SPOe) has refused to approve 
the 2007 and 2008 draft budget submitted by Finance Minister Wilhelm 
Molterer. The proposal leaves him "short by about 50 to 60 million 
Euros," Darabos told an Austrian daily. He would not run the risk of 
"a single Austrian soldier being brought home in a casket, simply 
because I don't have the armored vehicles for our missions abroad 
that meet today's requirements," Darabos added. Liberal daily Der 
Standard reports that while all other cabinet ministers have already 
given their approval of the 68-billion-Euro Austrian double budget 
for 2007/2008, Defense Minister Norbert Darabos vetoed the draft; 
thus blocking final agreement. Darabos is demanding additional funds 
to finance reform of Austria's armed forces. 
 
 
New Name for Foreign Ministry 
 
¶3. As of March 1, the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs will be 
using its new name: "Federal Ministry for European and International 
Affairs." The Ministry's new homepage can be accessed at: 
www.bmeia.at and e-mail addresses from now on terminate in 
@bmeia.at. The old homepage and former e-mail addresses will be kept 
operational for the time being, however, according to 
mass-circulation daily Kurier. 
 
 
Berger Wants to Empty Prisons 
 
¶4. Austrian Minister for Justice Maria Berger (SPOe) wants to reduce 
the number of prisoners held in Austria by at least ten percent in 
the next few years. Among the measures she proposes is imposing more 
fines or house arrest rather than prison terms. 
In an interview with centrist daily Die Presse, Minister for Justice 
Maria Berger outlines her plans for the Austrian judiciary. A key 
element of her policy will be to bring back the juvenile detention 
center and court, abolished by the OeVP-FPOe-BZOe government. Such 
an institution is "necessary' for juvenile delinquents, Berger says, 
adding that she has always supported separate courts and prisons for 
juvenile offenders. 
 
 
EU Clears Bawag Sale 
 
¶5. EU competition authorities in Brussels have cleared the sale of 
Austrian union-owned bank Bawag to the US company Cerberus for 3.2 
billion Euros, the largest cash sale in Austrian banking history. 
Bawag got into trouble for failed currency speculation. About 2.6 
billion Euros from the sale will go to settle union federation 
debts, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung reports. 
Meanwhile, Helmut Elsner, the former head of Bawag, who faces trial 
on fraud and false accounting charges, remains in detention awaiting 
trial following heart surgery. 
 
 
McCain Launches White House Bid 
 
¶6. US Senator John McCain has officially announced he'll seek his 
Republican Party's nomination for next year's presidential election. 
He made the announcement on a late-night talk show on US television. 
His main rival for the nomination is former New York mayor Rudi 
Giuliani, who has widened his lead in recent weeks as the favorite 
candidate among Republicans. ORF online news, reporting on Senator 
John McCain's announcement he will run for nomination, says the 
Vietnam War veteran has always emphasized his foreign policy and 
military competence. Liberal daily Der Standard online writes that 
McCain's candidature had been widely expected. McCain has in the 
past few years followed his own political course, the daily says, 
citing as an example the Senator's push for outlawing torture. 
Reporting on a number of other presidential hopefuls, semi-official 
daily Wiener Zeitung suggests that Senator Barack Obama is running 
the risk of being caught in a dilemma in his race for the White 
House: While he strikes a popular chord with his 
fight-the-political-establishment approach, many observers are 
irritated by his stance on two key elements of US policy - race and 
religion. He is hiding his Muslim origins, and is not doing enough 
to promote the right of African Americans, they argue, according to 
the Wiener Zeitung. 
 
 
Prodi Survives Senate Vote 
 
¶7. Italian Prime Minster Romano Prodi narrowly survived a motion of 
confidence in the Senate, allowing him to continue in office. The 
vote came a week after Prodi lost a Senate vote on his foreign 
policy, prompting Italy's center-left government to stand down. 
Given his narrow victory, Austrian media wonder how long Prodi's 
government will last. 
 
 
US Getting Ready To Stay In Iraq 
 
¶8. According to US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, the United States 
will have to keep a military presence in Iraq for years to come, 
liberal daily Der Standard reports. Gates told the US Senate he 
believes US soldiers will have to stay in the country for an 
"extended period of time." The future US contingent in Iraq would be 
much smaller than it is today. 
 
 
US Willing To Talk With Iran, Syria 
 
¶9. All major Austrian media continue to report on what they describe 
as an "unexpected about face" in US Middle East policy, following 
the surprise announcement by Secretary of State Rice earlier this 
week that the United States is prepared to participate in a security 
conference in Iraq, which Iranian and Syrian representatives are 
also expected to attend. 
Foreign affairs writer for independent provincial daily Salzburger 
Nachrichten Thomas Spang comments: "Is US President George W. Bush 
finally prepared to implement the recommendations of the Iraq study 
group and just unable to admit it? The diplomatic turnaround with 
regard to Iran and Syria is cause for hope. (...) In view of the 
chaotic situation in Iraq and the resistance of high-ranking US 
generals, President Bush can only profit from talks with Iran and 
Syria. Even if they definitely refuse cooperation in stabilizing 
Iraq that would at least prove that failure in this regard is not 
exclusively attributable to the White House's inability to make 
progress. There is also hope that Bush will implement a second 
element of the Baker report:  To start the withdrawal of the US 
troops this year . (...) Whether there is a concept behind the 
military and diplomatic parallel efforts on the part of the White 
House that relates to the experts' recommendations, however, remains 
speculation. Congress has to continue to increase its pressure to 
achieve a lasting change of strategy in Iraq." 
 
Meanwhile in liberal daily Der Standard, foreign affairs editor 
Gudrun Harrer says that it is a "veritable change of policy by the 
US when, all of a sudden and without fanfare, it announces its 
intention to speak with Iran and Syria about Iraq - albeit not on 
the bilateral level, but at least in high-level talks. However, one 
should not get carried away:  Washington has not become active on 
its own accord in an attempt to implement the recommendations of the 
Baker-Hamilton commission; rather, it follows an Iraqi request and a 
purely Iraqi initiative. (...) Past attempts by Teheran and 
Washington to engage in talks have been numerous - almost for the 
entire last year, both parties have been blaming each other for not 
being ready to talk. And they were both right. Of course, the 
primary obstacle was the Iranian request to talk about more than 
just Iraq. That is the reason why a preparatory meeting is so 
important and failure before April is still possible.  Washington 
seems to have realized that Iraq can only be stabilized by firmly 
anchoring the country in the region. However, Teheran had better not 
expect concessions with regard to other issues." 
 
 
"US Is Ultimate Decision Authority' 
 
¶10. In an interview with an Austrian daily, Polish military expert 
Maria Wagrowska said the decision in favor of stationing US missile 
defense systems in Poland is a done deal. 
In an interview with liberal daily Der Standard, Polish military 
expert Maria Wagrowska stressed why Poland is in favor of having a 
US missile defense system on its territory: "Since 1990, Poland's 
policy has been pro-US. It is therefore only natural for Poland to 
play its part in the US missile defense system. Furthermore, the 
Polish government is convinced that a missile defense shield will 
make the country more secure, because any attack on Poland would 
virtually amount to declaring war on the US. The US would not only 
defend its anti-missile system stationed in Poland, but the entire 
Polish territory. Secondly, the Polish government is hoping to get 
Patriot missiles (...) from the US in exchange for its agreement to 
have the US defense system stationed here, and thus close the gap in 
our air raid defenses." 
McCaw