Austrian Chancellor Overrules Science Minister -- Austria Will Remain in CERN. (May 20, 2009)

On May 9 TFW reported: Austria Citing Budgetary Constraints to Withdraw from CERN. Yesterday the Austrian Chancellor, Werner Faymann, announced he was reversing the decision of his science minister and Austria will remain.

Chancellor Faymann said that he didn't want to damage Austria's reputation as a reliable partner in international collaborations, but ScienceInsider reports that other practical considerations were also a consideration. CERN scientists are helping it build a particle-beam cancer therapy centre called MedAustron in Lower Austria -- the pullout might have affected the collaboration, and soldering differences within the governing coalition may have also been a factor.

In any case ScienceInsider says: "Hahn was widely criticized for failing to consult first with the scientific community, CERN, or the Austrian chancellor. 'It was not very well handled,' says Christian Fabjan, director of the Institute for High Energy Physics in the Austrian Academy of Sciences. 'There were very many arguments against withdrawal, and very few for it'."

In addition an online petition quickly brought over 32,000 signatories from Austria's scientific community.