Marathon Pundit: Lack of transparency in EADS tanker bid and a sleazy flashback

Thursday, June 03, 2010

Lack of transparency in EADS tanker bid and a sleazy flashback

What the heck is wrong with EADS, the parent of Airbus? Last month it was reported that the European firm marketed its products in Iran--while it's bidding on the Air Force's new mid-air tanker.

Here's that latest on EADS: Financial Times (free registration required) reports that the it has a new partner for the tanker bid. Who? Well, it's a secret:

EADS is keeping secret the identity of a new US partner for a $40bn Pentagon contract because political pressure could force the company to pull out if its name were revealed, the head of the European aerospace and defense group has said.

"We are not giving the name because we don't want to put them under pressure," said Louis Gallois, chief executive of the Franco-German conglomerate, yesterday.

Now the flashback: Influence peddler Karlheinz Schreiber handed former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney $225,000 to $300,000 in envelopes in three separate meetings in the mid-1990s. Prior to Mulroney's long term in office, then-government owned Air Canada had flown only Boeing jets. Then along came Airbus. Why? Could it have something to do with what the New York Times reported a few days ago?

Several Canadian journalists have reported that Mr. Mulroney received kickbacks from Mr. Schreiber in exchange for Air Canada's $1.8 billion deal with Airbus, a client of Mr. Schreiber's, in 1988...A spokeswoman for Airbus would not comment.

The inquiry was prohibited from reviewing the Airbus purchase, but it concluded that the money that Mr. Schreiber gave Mr. Mulroney originated with a shell company set up by Airbus in Liechtenstein "in connection with sales of Airbus aircraft to Air Canada." It found, however, that Mr. Mulroney was not aware of that link.