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TAGS: OPRC KPAO AU
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: July 27, 2007 
 
 
"Salary Rise for Everyone" - Social Minister Buchinger Criticized by 
Head of Economic Chamber Leitl 
 
¶1. The President of the Economics Chamber Christoph Leitl in an 
interview with ORF radio and last night on Austrian TV sharply 
criticized the statement by Social Minister Erwin Buchinger (SPOe) 
that for the upcoming wage negotiations it "would be optimal if a 
four percent rise" could be achieved. Leitl stated that neither 
industry nor labor unions would need such suggestions and the 
mentioning of concrete figures before the negotiations was an 
absolute no-no.  Leitl: "The Social Minister is ploughing a field 
which is not his." 
Social Minister Erwin Buchinger justified his demand with reference 
to the profit increases of companies during the past few years, of 
which the employees did not get their full share, reports centrist 
daily "Die Presse." Minister for Economy and Labor Martin 
Bartenstein from the coalition partner OeVP has likewise protested 
Buchinger's proposal, saying that intervention in the negotiations 
between the social partners on the part of a member of the 
government amounted to breaking a taboo and was dispensable. The 
trade unions likewise pointed out that the negotiations and the 
ensuing agreement was still "the business of the individual unions," 
as a spokesperson of the unions' umbrella organization put it. The 
respective negotiations will begin on September 28. 
 
Weapons Delays Hinder Iraqi Army 
 
¶2. ORF radio reports that the US-led coalition in Iraq has not 
delivered nearly two-thirds of the weapons and equipment it promised 
to the Iraqi army according to the US Defense Department. Iraq's 
Ambassador to the US has said that under-armed Iraqi troops are 
often "easy targets for militants." 
 
More Arms for Somalia 
 
¶3. Austrian media cover a UN report which says Eritrea is sending 
huge quantities of arms to Islamic insurgents in Somalia. The report 
says there are now more arms in Somalia than at any time since the 
early ninety nineties. 
 
Paris Is Helping Gaddafi to Build a Nuclear Power Plant 
 
¶4. Semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung headlines that France and 
Libya have agreed to cooperate in building a nuclear power plant in 
the North African state to provide energy for the desalination of 
seawater.  The paper also writes that US Secretary of State 
Condoleezza Rice has announced a visit to Libya soon. 
All Austrian media report on the French President's proposal to 
offer Libya French assistance with the construction of the plant, 
which, according to Sarkozy, has no connection with Libya's release 
of the Bulgarians earlier this week. "The only connection is that if 
they had not been released I would not have come," the French 
President is quoted by independent daily "Salzburger Nachrichten." 
Sarkozy's plan meets with severe criticism from environmentalists - 
Greenpeace has pointed out the considerable risks that are involved 
in exporting nuclear technology to a country like Libya. The daily 
quotes energy expert Frdric Marillier who argues that "[i]t is 
easy enough on paper to distinguish between military and civilian 
use of nuclear energy. But the technology is the same." Sarkozy's 
response to the charges that his move was irresponsible was that it 
would amount to a "humiliation of the Arab world" to claim that 
Libya is not responsible enough for civilian nuclear technology. The 
daily also refers to the fact that the nuclear power plant is only 
one aspect of the new cooperation with Libya - the country has also 
shown interest in French submarines, radar installations for the 
surveillance of borders and military helicopters, while France, in 
turn, is interested in the abundant Libyan uranium reserves. 
 
US Real Estate Crisis Bad for Investors 
 
¶5. The American real estate market is in a crisis and this makes 
banks hesitant to give out loans, writes independent daily "Der 
Standard." 
According to "Der Standard," this affects primarily the financial 
investors that finance their takeovers with the help of outside 
capital. Due to problems with US mortgage loans, the banks are now 
demanding higher loans for the financing of companies. The 
nervousness of the creditors has already endangered 20 large 
transactions, among them the sale of the British drugstore chain 
Alliance Boots and the beverage section of Cadbury. Up to this 
point, the culmination of the crisis was the postponement of the 
financing of the Chrysler purchase by BAWAG owner Cerberus, reports 
the daily. 
 
Taliban Boss Wants to Train Children to Kill Christians 
 
¶6. Austrian media report on a BBC interview with the military 
commander of the Taliban, Mansur Dadullah, in which he advocated the 
decapitation of hostages by children. 
Dadullah maintained in the interview that the killing of 
"unbelievers and spies" would make the children "braver." In the 
meantime, efforts to free the remaining 22 South Koreans - one 
hostage has already been killed - continue. A Taliban spokesperson 
announced that they are alive and safe. Also, the remaining German 
hostage is still alive. The kidnappings are part of an overall 
strategy on the part of the Taliban to capture as many foreigners in 
Afghanistan as they can, says independent daily "Der Standard" with 
reference to the BBC interview with Dadullah. In the meantime, the 
German Foreign Ministry has warned that the Taliban uses propaganda 
on a large scale. This is a new phenomenon which could be described 
as a "media war" or "war of words," the daily quotes from the 
Ministry's statement. 
 
Hardly Any Help for Veterans 
 
¶7. In a recent report, a US committee has demanded a comprehensive 
reform of veteran medical care, after former soldiers who served in 
Iraq and Afghanistan had accused the government with negligence. 
Independent daily "Der Standard" reports that the committee that 
investigated medical care for injured soldiers who served abroad, 
followed up on a scandal about the atrocious conditions in Walter 
Reed Hospital where military personnel are treated and where 
patients were reportedly housed in mildewed rooms that were infested 
with bugs. On Monday, veteran's associations had brought in 
collective charges in the names of "several hundred thousand 
soldiers" against the government. President Bush has agreed to 
speedily implement the committee's recommendations, which, among 
other measures, include better care for veterans suffering from 
mental conditions such as post-traumatic stress disorder. 
Kilner