subprime crisis that had to be helped up by the State with millions of euros of tax money,
especially the IKB.
Also in the international relations befween Liechtenstein and Germany, a known background
already existed and the soil was not unprepared. For years, Liechtenstein has been and
continues to be criticized because of its /ow taxes for enterprises and holding companies as
well as for its legal instrument of the foundation. The Liechtenstein financial center, like the
Swiss financial center, was known for its traditionally excellent financial services, and its
discretion which was manifested in bank client confidentiality. For instance, Jews were able
to save their assets and often their lives from the Hitler regime by placing their money in the
discreet Swiss and later Liechtenstein financial center. Securing assets in a way that deprives
the State of its legitimate revenue is now no longer tolerated. That Liechtenstein has no
interest in enriching itself at the expense of others was repeatedly emphasized by the
Government and was shown in practice with its signature of the EU Savings Tax Agreement
in 2004, which entered into force on 1 July 2005. Former German Minister of Finance Hans
Eichel expressed his dismay at the Liechtenstein situation using the unflattering term "maggot
in the bacon".
6.7.2 Influences on the issue structure
The processes of framing of issues by the media do not occur independently of other actors,
all of whom are trying to garner attention for "their" issues and assert their interests. The
question therefore arises who ultimately sets the agenda and what actors, especially
politicians and interest groups, are able to place "their" issues and frames in the media and
thus gain public attention and keep it for the long run.
The influences on the issue structure occur at different levels of intensity. Eichhorn
distinguishes four types of processes in this regard, as already discussed in Chapter 2.4.4:
interactive processes between actors "which can communicate with each other in manageable
arenas"; focused influence processes, i.e. "intentional acts that target not individual actors, but
rather institutions"; unfocused influence processes, "which target a mass audience or sub-
audiences"; and the /atent influences emanating from the audience as a whole (Eichhorn 2005,
155).
The reporting of the mass media, the "targeted reconstruction of the social environment in the
media", influences the public and the other actors; conversely, the results of the reporting —
such as reactions by the public to the reporting — in turn influence the mass media (see
Eichhorn 2005, 156). Media reporting is thus, according to Eichhorn's model, a central carrier
of the framing-of-issues process. This is also the experience of the author of this paper.
6.7.2.1 Interactive processes
The category of interactive processes includes the working talks between Liechtenstein Prime
Minister Otmar Hasler on the one side and German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel and
Federal Minister of Finance Peer Steinbriick on the other side on 20 February 2008 and
Federal Minister of the Interior Wolfgang Schäuble on 19 February 2008. These were
interactive processes, which substantially influenced the framing-of-issues process through a
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