Austrian tabloid newspapers are speculating that President Kurt Waldheim might be tempted to run for re-election when his term expires in 1992, as a result of his coup in bringing home 96 Austrian detainees from Iraq.
However, Waldheim himself said this was pure speculation, and would not give credence to the reports.
There is no age limit to the presidency, which is a six-year term, but one can be re-elected only once.
The 71-year-old president, scorned by most world leaders because of his wartime activities with the German Wehrmacht in the Balkans, has largely been applauded here for his surprise visit Saturday to Baghdad and his meeting with Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Waldheim said he had spoken on behalf of other foreign nationals who are trapped in Iraq. However, he returned only with Austrian citizens.
There has been some skepticism here over his trip, the first by a Western leader to Iraq since it invaded Kuwait on Aug. 2. But basically there has been approval of the fact that Waldheim acted in a humanitarian manner.
However, there has been much criticism over Austria’s permission for unarmed American planes to use Austrian airspace to send equipment to U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
