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TAGS: OPRC KPAO AU
 
SUBJECT: AUSTRIAN MEDIA HIGHLIGHTS: January 29, 2008 
 
OeVP Edges SPOe in Recent Poll 
 
¶1. A recent Gallup poll shows that the People's Party (OeVP) has 
jumped ahead of the Social Democrats (SPOe) in public opinion. The 
poll gives the OeVP 36 percent, an increase of one percentage point 
since the last poll, and the SPOe is at 33 percent, a decrease of 
one percentage point. The Greens have 14 percent, also up one 
percentage point, and the FPOe has 13 percent, down a percentage 
point. The BZOe remains at 3 percent. On the question of who 
Austrians would vote for if there were direct election of the 
chancellor, OeVP Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Wilhelm 
Molterer is ahead of SPOe Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer for the first 
time. The poll gives Molterer 33 percent, up three percentage 
points, compared to Gusenbauer's 31 percent, down three percentage 
points, according to semi-official daily Wiener Zeitung. 
 
 
Women's Pensions 40 Per Cent Lower Than Men's 
 
¶2. The Austrian pension authorities have reported that the average 
pension of women in the country is 40.2 percent lower than the 
men's. The net average pension in Austria is 872 Euros a month, but 
women receive on average only 692 Euros whereas men average at 1,158 
Euros. The net average pension increased from 740 Euros a month in 
2000 to 872 in 2007. In response to the report, Greens' social 
spokesperson Karl Oellinger said: "It is bad enough that 2008 
pension increases didn't take inflation into account and left 
recipients with a loss of purchasing power, but it is especially 
cynical that the government has actually increased social injustice 
in its pension policy." He added that more than half of female 
pensioners had received increases of only 1.7 per cent whereas men's 
increases had been clearly higher on average, says liberal daily Der 
Standard. 
 
 
EU Signs Accord with Serbia 
 
¶3. The European Union has offered Serbia closer trade relations and 
relaxed visa requirements, but not a full pre-membership accord. EU 
foreign ministers agreed on the "political interim accord" at their 
meeting on Monday, after efforts to conclude a fully negotiated 
stabilization and association agreement with Belgrade had failed in 
the face of opposition from The Netherlands. Serbia is holding the 
final round of presidential elections on Sunday, pitching a 
hard-line nationalist against a pro-European candidate, independent 
provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten reports. 
 
 
Soldiers Depart For Chad 
 
¶4. Austrian Defense Minister Norbert Darabos from the Social 
Democrats (SPOe) will bid official farewell today to troops 
departing for the European Union's peacekeeping mission in Chad. 
Austria is sending a total of 160 soldiers for the nearly 
4,000-strong EU force. The Austrian military's advance team will 
depart for Africa on Wednesday, with the remainder of the contingent 
being deployed gradually until the end of February. Austria's 
participation in the EU's Chad mission has been source of 
controversy among the country's political parties and the people for 
months, writes centrist daily Die Presse. 
 
 
Bush Holds Final State of the Union Address 
 
¶5. US President George Bush in his final State of the Union Address 
has urged Americans to have confidence in the US economy, but 
acknowledged that growth in the US is slowing. He spoke as the sale 
of new homes in the United States saw the largest fall since records 
began. Austrian radio quotes the US President as stressing that 
"across our country, there is a concern about our economic future. 
In the long run, Americans can be confident about our economic 
growth, but in the short run, we can all see that growth is 
slowing." President Bush also said increased troop numbers in Iraq 
were succeeding in their mission. Democratic leaders in the House of 
Representatives meanwhile said the speech offered "little more than 
the status quo." 
Commenting on US President George Bush's final State of the Union 
Address, journalist for ORF radio Christian Lininger says on the 
early morning news Morgenjournal: "Major foreign and domestic policy 
initiatives, proposed amendments to laws - all that was missing from 
George Bush's State of the Union Address this time. Obviously, the 
President realizes that by now, his power to make significant 
political decision is not what it used to be. Rather, the speech was 
a call on Americans to show patience and confidence. In the long 
term, the US economy would begin to grow again, even if there were 
some uncertainties in the short run, Bush argued, and appealed to 
Congress to quickly pass the economic rescue package agreed last 
week. (...) Next, Bush turned to last year's Iraqi troop surge: 
'Ladies and gentlemen, some may deny the surge is working, but among 
the terrorists there is no doubt. Al Qaeda is on the run in Iraq, 
and this enemy will be defeated.' However, patience was required in 
Iraq as well, Bush continued. Despite the recent success, some tough 
battles still lay ahead. The President voiced his scepticism with 
regard to a US troop pullout from Iraq that exceeds the announced 
level. Progress achieved in Iraq must not be gambled away, Bush 
said. Furthermore, he again urged Tehran to stop its uranium 
enrichment activities, and warned of a clear response, should Iran 
threaten US troops. However, his statements offered nothing new 
beyond the already well-known positions regarding Tehran." 
In centrist daily Die Presse, Washington correspondent Norbert Rief 
looking back on Bush's term of office, asks: "What will be the 
legacy of the 43rd President of the United States, of the man who 
united and divided the country like no US political leader before 
him?" In his State of the Union Address yesterday, "Bush should have 
taken stock of his eight years in office, but there is little to 
show for: His major political goals remained unrealized, (...) and 
he will spend his final months in the Oval Office as a 'lame duck,' 
opposed by a Congress that can block all his projects. (...) What 
remains of the 43rd President of the US? He will go down in history 
as a man who, after the attacks of September 11, united the country 
like no one before him; and who, at his re-election three years 
later, politically divided it more deeply that since the time of the 
Vietnam War. He led the US into an unloved war the country will not 
get out of any time soon; and with his foreign policy, he made sure 
America lost a great deal of international support and esteem. The 
wonderful dream he announced to the world at his inauguration in 
2005, to spread peace and democracy, burst like a bubble in the face 
of developments in Iraq. (...) Whoever wins the presidency in 
November, will also inherit the results of Bush's military 
intervention in Iraq. This war used up all of Bush's second term of 
office, and left little room for the usual political freedom of 
someone who no longer has to deal with the strain of re-election. 
The 'political capital' he wanted to bring to play after his 
election victory in 2004 remained lying idle. Meanwhile, Bush became 
one of the least popular presidents the United States has ever had. 
After a historic 88 percent of support after 9/11, he is now 
plodding along at around 30 percent. Historians are already debating 
whether he may emerge not only as the least popular, but also the 
worst President in US history. (...) All in all, Bush's final State 
of the Union Address was the beginning of a rather long farewell. 
The 'lame duck' will waddle on for almost another year." 
 
 
Decisive Vote in Florida 
 
¶6. All Austrian media continue to focus on the nomination process 
for the US presidential election, where primaries are being held in 
Florida today. Republican contenders for their party's nomination 
are facing a crucial primary in the southern state today. Former New 
York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who has been relying on a win in Florida 
for the nomination, is trailing in the polls. Austrian media agree 
that the result of the primary will decide whether Giuliani stays in 
the running or not. Most commentators believe, however, that the 
contest for the Republican nomination will be decided between 
presidential hopefuls John McCain and Mitt Romney. For both the 
Republicans and the Democrats today's primary is a decisive step, 
one week ahead of Super Tuesday: It is the first vote in a major US 
state, Austrian media explain. 
All major Austrian media comment and report on the upcoming primary 
in Florida, and what the vote might mean for the presidential 
hopefuls among both major parties in the US. Running the headline 
"Rudy's hope in Florida," independent provincial daily Salzburger 
Nachrichten explains that the former New York Mayor is only now 
entering into the race for the White House. Experts have called 
Guiliani's strategy not to campaign in Iowa, New Hampshire and South 
Carolina "bizarre," and argue that if his plan succeeds, he would be 
a "genius," the daily writes. But despite his campaign efforts in 
Florida recently, things are not looking good for the "Mayor of 
America." In polls, he has dropped behind rivals John McCain and 
Mitt Romney. In a similar vein, mass-circulation tabloid Kronen 
Zeitung suggests the Florida primary will be the day determining the 
future of Giuliani's campaign. Centrist daily Die Presse meanwhile 
argues Giuliani is "playing roulette in Florida." Only a few moths 
ago the former Mayor of New York was so far ahead in the polls the 
question was whether anyone could beat him. Now, people are asking 
themselves if there's still anyone out there he can beat, the 
daily's Washington correspondent Norbert Rief says. Similarly, 
liberal daily Der Standard says that Giuliani is "banking on Florida 
entirely." 
Kilner