VZCZCXYZ0011
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #2826/01 3240916
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 200916Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9029
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHDC PRIORITY
RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 002826 
 
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: November 19, 2007 
 
Molterer Defends Pension Increase 
 
¶1. Speaking on Austrian television on Sunday, Vice-Chancellor and 
Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer from the People's Party (OeVP) 
defended the SPOe-OeVP coalition government's decision to raise 
pension by up to 2.9 percent next year. He acknowledged concerns 
voiced by experts, but supported the increase nonetheless, because 
the government could afford it at this point, Molterer said. It was 
not a "long-term course of action," though, the Vice-Chancellor said 
on ORF TV's Sunday morning program Meet the Press on November 18. 
 
 
Kosovo on EU Agenda 
 
¶2. European Union foreign ministers are meeting in Brussels today to 
try to find a common position on the future of Kosovo. Their meeting 
comes a day after the PDK, the party led by Hashim Thaci, a former 
Kosovo Albanian guerrilla leader, won the breakaway province's 
parliamentary election. Hashim Thaci has promised to declare formal 
independence from Serbia after December 10, which is the UN deadline 
for Albanians and Serbs to reach a deal. The Serbs, who want Kosovo 
to remain part of Serbia, had boycotted the polls, which saw a 
record low turnout. All Austrian media agree that the future of 
Kosovo province remains unclear, with Serbs and Albanians still in 
disagreement regarding its international status is. 
According to independent provincial daily Kleine Zeitung, two 
scenarios present itself for Kosovo:  Realistically, according to 
the daily, the province will declare independence after negotiations 
fail to bring about a resolution of the dispute between Serbs and 
Albanians. Thus, the issue is likely to remain a thorn in Serbia's 
side for years to come and will cause a recurrence of nationalist 
tendencies. The alternative would be for the newly-elected Thaci to 
give the West the chance to push through a last-minute compromise, 
which connects Kosovo's legitimate right to self-governance with a 
guarantee for Serbia's territorial integrity that is limited with 
regard to time and content. 
Liberal daily Der Standard suggests that the best Thaci could do is 
to give his fellow Kosovarians the quick satisfaction of achieving 
independence. However, in that case, he will likely have to deal 
with a possible separation attempt on the part of northern Kosovo, 
which is inhabited predominantly by Serbs. 
 
 
Powell: Iran Nowhere Near Acquiring Nuclear Weapons 
 
¶3. Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell said on Sunday that 
Iran is nowhere near acquiring a nuclear weapon and that Tehran was 
"foolish" for diverting its resources to nuclear program rather than 
utilizing it for its people. Speaking at a gathering of bankers, 
businessmen and diplomats in Kuwait, the former Secretary of State 
also stressed that in his view a US military strike against Iran was 
"unlikely." Although no American official would say that the option 
was "off the table," he did not see prospects of a military conflict 
with the Islamic republic, Powell emphasized. He explained that 
there was no base of support among the American people for such 
action which would be widely conemned, and added that the US 
military had enoughon its hands in Iraq and Afghanistan to get 
invoved in another conflict, reports ORF online news. 
 
 
Negroponte Calls for Lfting of Pakistan Emergeny Rule 
 
¶4. US Deputy Secretary of State John Negoponte has urged Pakistan's 
President Pervez Musarraf to lift emergency rule and free political 
opponents ahead of elections in January.   "I urged the government 
to stop such actions, lift the state of emergency and release all 
political detainees," Negroponte told journalists at the weekend, 
following a meeting with Musharraf in Pakistan with. The Deputy 
Secretary of State also stressed that "emergency rule is not 
 
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compatible with free, fair and credible elections." However, 
Negroponte praised the Pakistani leader's efforts in the war on 
terror, and said he was heartened by the announcement of an election 
date for January 9. 
According to independent provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten, US 
Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte's "strong message" for 
Pakistan "has been futile." The United States "is trying in vain to 
moderate the Pakistani ruler." Despite Negroponte's call for a 
lifting of emergency rule and democratic elections, President Pervez 
Musharraf does not seem to be inclined to change his authoritarian 
course. According to the newspaper, the statements from US diplomats 
that Negroponte had come to Pakistan with a very strong message and 
delivered it, "merely goes to show that his efforts were to no 
avail." The Deputy Secretary of State has also "failed in his 
efforts to restart the dialogue between Musharraf and opposition 
leader Benazir Bhutto. The General rejected new talks as too 
confrontational, and Mrs. Bhutto has dismissed the request because 
she is opposed to any contact with the dictator. Negroponte was 
pushing for a compromise and suggested a 'path of political 
moderation would be best for Pakistan.' But the only thing left to 
do for Washington is to hope that Musharraf will eventually come 
around," the Salzburger Nachrichten argues. 
McCaw