VZCZCXYZ0017
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #1437/01 1501223
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 301223Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7472
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 001437 
 
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: OPRC KPAO AU
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: May 30, 2007 
 
 
Darabos Wants More Money 
 
¶1. Defense Minister Norbert Darabos from the SPOe is continuing his 
efforts to demonstrate his commitment to his office beyond the 
controversial Eurofighter purchase deal, Austrian media say. He 
discussed the status of the Austrian army's reform process, and 
dismissed criticism of his performance in office. In addition, he 
urged Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer (OeVP) to increase funds for 
the military in the next double budget for 2009/2010, according to 
independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten. 
 
 
Vienna Conference: Impulse for the Middle East 
 
¶2. Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik wants to "set the ball 
rolling" with the two-day international conference "Women Leaders - 
Networking for Peace and Security in the Middle East," which begins 
in Vienna today. The meeting is "not about developing a new Mideast 
road map," but about looking at the Middle East peace process in 
connection with the economy, the media and society, as well as about 
providing the opportunity for "dialogue, contacts, and influence 
capabilities." 
Like all Austrian media reporting on the international "Women 
Leaders" conference hosted by Foreign Minister Plassnik in Vienna on 
Wednesday and Thursday, semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung notes 
that the meeting will bring together women holding key positions in 
politics, the media, business and civil society to discuss ways to 
boost peace and security in the Middle East. The conference program 
includes workshops on the role of the media, on economic 
development, and on networking in politics and civil society in the 
Mideast peace process. A meeting has also been scheduled of the 
"Women's Empowerment Network," which unites female foreign ministers 
and presidents from around the world. US Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice, Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, Hanan 
Ashrawi of the Palestinian Legislative Council and Sheikha Haya 
Rashed al-Khalifa, the President of the UN General Assembly, are 
among the conference participants. 
Centrist daily Die Presse headlines "Women on the margins of 
society" and suggests that "women politicians are to bring new hope 
to the Middle East. But hardly anywhere else are women as 
under-represented politically and discriminated by law as in the 
Arab World." Thus, the "real motto" of the Vienna conference could 
be "power to the women," the Presse says. The assumption here is 
that women are better suited than men to establish peace, which is 
one of the reasons why the Middle East is topping the conference 
agenda, given that it is the region in more dire need of peace than 
any other in the world. According to the Presse, women do not occupy 
positions of power in any Middle East country with the exception of 
Israel, with Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni. Also, more often than 
not, if they make it into politics they are being palmed off with 
"soft" portfolios. This is hardly different from the situation in 
many Western states, but in the Middle East the women's politically 
shadowy existence reflects a kind of discrimination that goes much 
deeper. The Presse also reports on "how Plassnik got Condoleezza 
Rice to come to Vienna," saying that the idea to hold a conference 
in Vienna focusing on women and the Middle East was first floated at 
the "Women's Empowerment Network" meeting in New York last year. 
Mass-circulation provincial daily Kleine Zeitung, liberal daily Der 
Standard, and mass-circulation daily Kurier also report on the 
issue. 
 
 
Bush Chooses New World Bank Boss 
 
¶3. US President George Bush has chosen former Deputy Secretary of 
State Robert Zoellick to be the next President of the World Bank. 
Zoellick will replace Paul Wolfowitz, who is leaving the bank after 
the scandal over his girlfriend's promotion. An aide to President 
Bush said he expects the World Bank board to approve Zoellick's 
appointment. The former Deputy Secretary of State can rely on 
excellent contacts among business and political leaders all over the 
world, Austrian media say. 
On ORF radio's early morning news Morgenjournal, Washington 
correspondent Raimund Loew comments on the appointment of Robert 
Zoellick as the new World Bank President: "The White House says it 
has received only positive feedback regarding the President's 
candidate, even from the usually so critical Europeans. Robert 
Zoellick has belonged to the Bush administrations' top team from day 
one. ... The call from several developing nations led by Brazil that 
the next World Bank President be chosen in an open selection process 
went unheard, though," Loew says, and concludes: "It is now up to 
Zoellick to restore the World Bank's credibility, which his 
predecessor Wolfowitz gambled away. This will not only require the 
strictest observance of the ethical standards Wolfowitz came into 
conflict with; he will also need to re-establish the fundamental 
faith in the World Bank's role as supporter of the poorest 
countries," says Loew. 
 
 
Mideast Quartet Meets in Berlin 
 
¶4. Leading representatives of the Middle East Quartet are holding 
talks in Berlin today in an attempt to push for de-escalation in the 
region. German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, US 
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and the top diplomats from 
 
SIPDIS 
Russia, the EU and the UN will attend the summit, which comes at a 
time when the "situation in the Middle East must be considered a 
matter of gravest concern," Austrian media quote from a German 
Foreign Ministry statement. The US Secretary of State will travel 
from Berlin to Vienna tomorrow to attend the international 
conference hosted by Austrian Foreign Minister Ursula Plassnik, says 
ORF online news. 
 
 
Sarkozy Won't Block Turkey Talks 
 
¶5. French President Nicolas Sarkozy said he will not block further 
talks on Turkey's accession to the European Union, although he is 
known to oppose Turkey's membership in EU. Talks with Ankara on 
three more chapters in the membership process are scheduled to begin 
in June, according to ORF radio early morning news Morgenjournal. 
McCaw