Austrian Social Democrats target Turkey's EU bid

Social Democrats promised referendum on future changes to the EU reform treaty, the AP reported.  Â

Leaders of Austria's governing coalition partners met 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 Peoples 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 leadership of the Social Democrats. Austrian Chancellor Alfred Gusenbauer, a social democrat,  said he would seek a referendum over future changes to European Union treaties including expansion of the bloc to include Turkey, drawing the ire of his coalition partner.

``Future treaty changes that affect Austrian interests should be decided by a referendum,'' Gusenbauer and Werner Faymann, incoming leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party, wrote in an open letter published on Friday by Kronen Zeitung, Austria's most-read newspaper.

The letter comes two weeks after Irish voters rejected the EU's Lisbon Treaty, casting doubt over the continent's ability to press ahead with plans for closer political union. All 27 members must ratify the treaty before it can come into effect. Austria's parliament passed the treaty in April.

The unexpected announcement caused a firestorm of reaction from the Peoples Party, which was not consulted beforehand.

Austrian Vice-Chancellor and Finance Minister Wilhelm Molterer, who is head of the People's Party, junior coalition partner to the Social Democrats, said the letter was a ``grave mistake.''

In the letter, Gusenbauer and Faymann pledged to allow citizens a vote on any possible Turkish accession to the EU.