Merkel under fire as Germany seethes over NSA spying

[Catherina]

Source: CS Monitor

With September elections looming, German opposition members are asking: What did the chancellor know, and when did she know it?
By Michael Steininger, Correspondent / July 2, 2013



German Chancellor Angela Merkel attends a ceremony at the Chancellery in Berlin today. A broad swath of Germany's political class has condemned the US surveillance of Germans and EU offices, and some critics have questioned how much Mrs. Merkel knew about the American program. Thomas Peter/Reuters


The NSA surveillance program PRISM was meant to provide intelligence related to terrorism and crime. But in Germany it has had an unintended side effect: It has become a factor in the campaign for September’s general elections.

Berlin’s political class is united in dismay over the revelations of large-scale US spying on Germany and other European countries and institutions. Officials across the political spectrum have wielded strong words to condemn the use of surveillance programs like PRISM and Tempora against Western allies of the United States, and the alleged bugging of EU diplomatic offices.

The only voice that stayed conspicuously silent for days was that of Chancellor Angela Merkel.

...

“Either Merkel knew a lot more than she was letting on – or she knew nothing. Both cases would be a scandal,” says Thomas Oppermann, chief whip for the SPD in the German parliament, the Bundestag. Mr. Oppermann has called a meeting of the Bundestag Oversight Committee for Wednesday to look into Merkel’s handling of the affair and into why the German secret service, the BND, either did not detect the spying or knew about it and did not report it.

Read more: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Europe/2013/0702/Merkel-under-fire-as-Germany-seethes-over-NSA-spying

[Iliyah]

1. At last

Snowden has a home.

[pnwmom]

2. So Germany isn't spying, too. Right.

[LarryNM]

7. +1 n/t

[treestar]

11. REally

all the Europeans who are "enraged." Haven't we undertaken their defense for years?

[Bluenorthwest]

16. Well you Centrists best get over there and explain it to the voters of Germany

'Johnny does it too, his Mommy lets him, so we are not doing anything out of line' I'm sure they will rush to believe you.

[DeSwiss]

3. Oh, the weather in Germany is frightful....

♫And to fire on Merkel is so delightful
And since she's so low in the polls
Let it Snowden, let it Snowden, Let it Snowden!!!♫

- K&R

[newfie11]

15. Lol

[Bosonic]

4. Coincidence?

English rude word enters German language

Germany's standard dictionary has included a vulgar English term, used by Chancellor Angela Merkel among others, as an acceptable German word.

Duden, the equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary in the UK, said it was reflecting the common use of the word "shitstorm" among Germans.

The word, which is used in German to denote a public outcry, seems to have caught on during the eurozone crisis.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23142660

[JDPriestly]

5. K&R.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

6. It's going to be all the rage amongst politicians EVERYWHERE to jump on the anti-NSA bandwagon.

From the same folks that brought you this:

[Ash_F]

8. Merkel governs from the right.

Her downfall is good for Germany.

[dipsydoodle]

9. Problem is

you don't know what will replace her come the German Federal elections in 2 months time. There is already a lot of bias due to the sensitivity of German taxpayers towards their tax money being pissed away on countries like Greece.

[Democracyinkind]

10. It's perefectly clear WHO will replace her if she doesn't get elected.

Peer Steinbrück, SPD.

Translated into the American system (which can't really be done without being wildly inaccurate) this would constitue a change from Republican to Democratic rule.

Again, I just love your sigline.

[dipsydoodle]

12. I wasn't defending Merkel.

Can't stand the old moo. I'm not sure that Republican to Democratic equivalence works too well in Europe when it comes to comparisons.

Sig line was stolen from Tom Waits.

[Democracyinkind]

13. I got that. Wasn't meant as a criticism. Just that the "succession" is clear, if there is one. nt

[temmer]

17. yep

- hardly a difference between Merkel and Steinbrück.

However, compared to the US, German parties are generally more leftist. There are not a lot of politicians within Merkel's party who have so far right positions as the average Republican.

[Democracyinkind]

18. I agree. nt

[KansDem]

14. Time for another soothing backrub...

Dere...dat makes id all bedder!