VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVI #0634/01 1281453
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 071453Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0151
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RHEHAAA/WHITEHOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY

UNCLAS VIENNA 000634 
 
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 07, 2008 
 
 
AUA Trying To Save Deal with Saudi Sheikh 
 
¶1. Austrian Airlines (AUA) and the Oesterreichische Industrie 
Holding AG (OeIAG) are desperately trying to get Sheikh Mohammed Bin 
Issa Al Jaber back on board, after the Saudi businessman said he 
would pull out of a deal to purchase a 20 percent stake in AUA. The 
results of an emergency meeting to save the deal have not been made 
public, but shareholders will be informed of the outcome of the 
negotiations in a general meeting later today. Sheikh Al Jaber 
signed a preliminary agreement with the airline on April 3, but his 
lawyers have now informed AUA and OeIAG, the majority share holder, 
that he does not feel bound by the contract. Al Jaber claims he was 
mislead by AUA over the extent of the airline's losses and the true 
state of the company. 
 
 
Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor to Discuss Health Reform Proposal 
 
¶2. Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer (SPOe) and Vice-Chancellor/Finance 
Minister Wilhelm Molterer (OeVP) are to hold a meeting today to 
discuss the Austrian social partners' plan for healthcare reform. 
The proposal aims at putting heavily-indebted health insurance 
companies back on their feet. Experts from the conservative Workers 
and Employees Association OeAAB and many doctors have warned against 
"excessive haste" in the government's attempts to fix the ailing 
health insurance providers. 
Reporting on the social government and social partner's efforts to 
get health insurance companies out of the red, independent 
provincial daily Salzburger Nachrichten headlines "OeAAB against 
Molterer's course," and quotes OeAAB boss Fritz Neugebauer as trying 
to put the brakes on the Finance Minister's healthcare reform plans, 
and is calling for sweeping tax reform. Likewise, centrist daily Die 
Presse writes about the "open power struggle over the patching up of 
Austria's health insurance providers: The employee representatives 
close to the People's Party are deeply divided; the conservative 
OeAAB has harshly attacked the Austrian Economic Association; and 
OeVP healthcare  spokesperson Rasinger is taking on the social 
partners, the daily says. 
 
 
Increase in Taxes 
 
¶3. Austrians have paid more taxes during the first quarter of this 
year compared to the same quarter last year. The state has collected 
a significant 6 percent plus in taxes in the first three months of 
2008, with income taxpayers in particular having contributed much 
more than last year. In view of the results, the opposition parties 
have called for immediate tax relief measures to disburden 
taxpayers, according to ORF TV's prime time news Zeit im Bild I on 
Tuesday. 
 
 
EU Gives Austria Second Warning on Inntal Motorway Ban 
 
¶4. The EU Commission has threatened to take legal action against 
Austria, if a partial ban on trucks on the Inntal-Autobahn in Tyrol 
province is not lifted. Transport Commissioner Jacques Barrot said 
the ban is not justified, and Brussels sent a second request to the 
Austrian government on Tuesday to lift the ban - saying it 
interfered with cross border trade. The ban only applies to trucks 
carrying certain goods and is only applicable to certain sections of 
the highway. The case will go to the European Court if Austria 
ignores the warning, ORF TV's prime time news Zeit im Bild I 
reported on Tuesday. 
 
 
Clinton Wins Indiana, Obama North Carolina 
 
¶5. In the race for the Democratic Party nomination for the US 
presidential election, Barack Obama has won decisively in the 
primary in North Carolina, with 56 percent of the vote. His rival, 
Hillary Clinton, has claimed victory in the other primary held in 
Indiana yesterday. ORF radio quotes analysts as saying Clinton's 
lead there of about two percent must be considered "a setback." 
Clinton, however, has said she is still on course for the White 
House. A commentator on ORF radio says that yesterday's two 
primaries were "Hillary Clinton's last real chance to catch up with 
her rival Barack Obama, as Indiana and North Carolina were the last 
two primaries in major US states ahead of the Democratic Party 
Convention. However, she failed to pull that off," while Obama 
"succeeded in further securing his lead." Nonetheless, "Clinton has 
said she will not give up," so "once again, the two primaries 
yesterday failed to decide the race between the two Democratic 
presidential hopefuls." 
Commenting on the results of the primaries held in the US states of 
Indiana and North Carolina yesterday, journalist for ORF radio 
Christian Lininger says on Oe1 early morning news Morgenjournal: 
"After a couple of difficult weeks, Barack Obama has obviously 
regained his confidence. He told his voters 'there were those who 
were saying North Carolina would be a game changer - but North 
Carolina has decided the only area where we need change is [with 
regard to the kind of] politics being made in Washington DC.' Obama 
is referring to a comment made by his rival Hillary Clinton, who had 
hoped a victory in North Carolina would boost her chances of 
securing the Democratic nomination. But Clinton lost in North 
Carolina - significantly. According to the votes counted so far, 
Obama is ahead of her by more than 15 percentage points. In Indiana, 
the second state where people went to the polls yesterday, [ ...] 
the vote counts show Hillary Clinton with a narrow lead. But the 
final results have not been announced yet. Even if Clinton wins in 
Indiana, she has lost her last real chance of changing the tides in 
the race to catch up with Obama. Her rival succeeded in adding more 
delegates to his count than she did last night - thus further 
increasing his lead over her. He managed to refute the argument his 
pastor's incentive speeches would cause lasting damage to his 
campaign. Once again, however, both North Carolina and Indiana 
showed Clinton as the stronger candidate among the Democratic base, 
the white blue-collar workers. But even this fact did not give 
Clinton a clear victory, and may have made it even more difficult 
for her to convince the Super Delegates she should be the Democratic 
presidential candidate - even if her nomination would go against the 
wishes of the majority of US voters. In any case, several election 
strategists have already labeled this election night the end of the 
Clinton campaign. Clinton herself, however, does not want to give 
up. 'Full speed on to the White House,' she told her supporters. It 
is clear, then: The race for the Democratic presidential nomination 
will go on until the very end." 
 
 
New President for Russia 
 
¶6. Today, outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin is to formally 
hand over power to his preferred successor, Dmitri Medvedev, who won 
the March general election in Russia. One of Medvedev's first acts 
in office is expected to be the naming of Putin as his Prime 
Minister. With this move, all Austrian media expect, Vladimir Putin 
will continue to call the shots in Russia, and determine the 
country's future course. It remains to be seen, one Austrian daily 
says, "whether Medvedev is simply a slave to Putin's authority, or a 
liberal reformer after all." 
Liberal daily Der Standard comments that Vladimir Putin was the 
person directing the ceremony marking the handover of power in the 
Kremlin. "We're already familiar with the script, only the leading 
actors are different," the daily says, and adds: "Even with Medvedev 
as the new President, it is Vladimir Putin - as the Prime Minister - 
who will remain the trump card in the Russian power games, according 
to most observers, 
And in centrist daily Die Presse, security affairs writer Burkhart 
Bischof expects "huge problems ahead." He says: "So far, all we know 
about Medvedev is that he intends to continue the policy of his 
predecessor. However, the latter's record is mixed with regard to 
economic, domestic and foreign policy - no matter how strong and 
powerful Russia presents itself to the outside world. The cohesion 
of the Russian Federation, the largest country on earth, is by no 
means guaranteed for eternity. ... However, that is only one of the 
enormous problems which a responsible Russian leadership will have 
to deal with. There are more. How, for instance, can a peaceful and 
productive coexistence of the different ethnic groups with the 
Russian majority be guaranteed in the multi-ethnic Russian state, 
which has a growing percentage of Muslims? How can the distribution 
of the increasing prosperity from the few large cities to the vast 
regions be accomplished? How can the Russian economy get away from a 
situation where export of natural resources is almost its only 
source of income and carry diversification to the point where 
prospeity is guaranteed even when the Russian soil no loger 
contains oil and gas in abundance? How can Rssia organize its 
foreign policy towards its neigbors, especially the smaller ones, 
in such a waythat they are not constantly afraid of the Russian 
giant, assume that Russia has neo-imperialist inentions and seek 
shelter with NATO? Big country  big problems. He would be a great 
Presidentthat tried to solve all these problems in a systematic, 
wise and permanent way. Vladimir Putin has not done that. Dimitrij 
Mededev now has his chance to accomplish the task." 
 
 
Dramatic Reports from Cyclone-Hit Myanmar 
¶7. Aid agencies have said hundreds of thousands of survivors of the 
cyclone that hit Myanmar on Saturday, are facing disease and hunger. 
The death toll is believed to be around 22,000 at the moment, with 
over one million people without food and shelter. Journalists and 
aid workers who have succeeded in getting into Myanmar have warned 
that aid getting into the country is nowhere near enough, because of 
the attitude of the military regime. Austrian media comment that the 
Myanmar government's failure to respond effectively to the 
destruction wrought by the cyclone reflects not only the regime's 
repressive nature, but also the fact that it is way out of its depth 
in the situation, writes centrist daily Die Presse. 
 
 
 
 
 
First Execution in US in Seven Months 
 
¶8. The US state of Georgia has carried out the first death sentence 
since last September. A convicted murderer died by lethal injection 
after the US Supreme Court rejected an appeal claiming the means of 
execution broke a constitutional ban on cruel and unusual 
punishment, according to independent provincial daily Salzburger 
Nachrichten. 
Kilner