Spying on Merkel

The eavesdropping scandal reached new heights yesterday. Apparently, U.S. spies tapped the chancellor’s phone. Press Secretary Seibert, with diplomatic care, says there are “clues” that Merkel “may have been” spied upon. However, it is very unlikely that the chancellor would have called the U.S. president had the information not been extremely plausible. According to Seibert’s explanation, the phone tapping is still going on — he spoke in the present tense, not past.

The chancellor spoke to Obama about a betrayal of trust. That is very politely phrased. Anyone eavesdropping has broken into someone’s most private sphere. The difference between breaking in with a crowbar and breaking in with a glass cutter is a small one. In the chancellor’s case, the suspected espionage concerns the security of our country, Germany. It’s well known that Angela Merkel has perfected the art of governing by text message. What information of a private and political nature may have been caught by the U.S. spy network?

If the evidence proves to be correct, even the most passionate friends of the United States will have to believe Snowden’s revelations. His information paints a picture of a spy system without oversight or limitations. It is unworthy of a constitutional state; this is how tramps behave. Stalinist dictators behave this way, but not allies, partners and friends in the family of world democracies.

The upshot of this affair has some unintended irony; the chancellor demanded Obama answer several questions which Berlin had asked months ago. Interesting; Federal Minister Pofalla declared the spying affair over back in the summer, without possessing substantive information. Only mockery is still on his side.