Austria's coalition leaders meet for crisis talks amid growing political tension

Leaders of Austria's governing coalition partners were meeting behind closed doors Sunday amid growing speculation that early elections could be around the corner. The center-left Social Democrats did only slightly better than the conservative People's Party in October 2006 elections, and it took the two parties several months to forge a so-called grand coalition. They have been feuding off and on ever since. The latest point of contention is an apparent EU policy reversal by the Social Democrats. In an open letter published late last week by the tabloid Kronen Zeitung, Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer called for referendums on future changes to EU treaties. The unexpected announcement caused a firestorm of reaction from the People's Party, which was not consulted beforehand. The mass-circulation daily, the most widely read... [read full story]