Argument: Doing nothing makes Merkel and Germany look weak

Politics is about action. The German government has to take some action on the issue of NSA surveillance and German privacy or it will look weak. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich went to Washington in July but was accused of “returning empty-handed” and having “not moved a single step forward on any of the key points”. [1] The stonewalling by the United States provides an opportunity for opponents to Damage Merkel’s new government as well as potentially to show gaps between the SDP and CSU. Merkel has been invited to visit Washington at some point in 2014 by President Obama, [2] Merkel can’t afford for her own diplomacy to have as little result as Friedrich’s.

[1] Deutsche Welle, ‘SPF, Greens slam Interior Minister Friedrich after US surveillance talks in Washington’, dw.de, 13 July 2013, http://www.dw.de/spd-greens-slam-interior-minister-friedrich-after-us-surveillance-talks-in-washington/a-16949123

[2] Reuters, ‘Obama invites Merkel to visit during call about trade, NATO’, 8 January 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/08/us-usa-germany-obama-merkel-idUSBREA071CR20140108

Candidate 1: "Officially talks are ongoing so an agreement is still possible. Moreover a failure to reach an agreement does not mean that Germany should act unilaterally. Restraint will in the long term mean Germany is much more likely to negotiate an agreement with the United States as they will be more willing to listen to an ally who has not tried to prosecute US intelligence officials."
Candidate 2: "Of course spying on another country is illegal, but everyone does it. Le Monde in July had a report on The Direction Générale de la Securité Extérieure (DGSC) having systematically collected “the electromagnetic signals transmitted by computers and phones in France, as well as the digital streams going back-and-forth between the French and abroad. All communications are being spied on: emails, SMS messages, phone records, Facebook and Twitter updates, which are all then stored for years”. [1]

[1] Follorou, Jaques, and Johannès, Franck, ‘Exclusive: French Intelligence Has Its Own Version Of PRISM’, Worldcrunch, 4 July 2013, http://www.worldcrunch.com/world-affairs/exclusive-french-intelligence-has-its-own-version-of-prism/dgse-prism-secret-service-france-big-brother-/c1s12643/"
Candidate 3: "Politics is about action. The German government has to take some action on the issue of NSA surveillance and German privacy or it will look weak. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich went to Washington in July but was accused of “returning empty-handed” and having “not moved a single step forward on any of the key points”. [1] The stonewalling by the United States provides an opportunity for opponents to Damage Merkel’s new government as well as potentially to show gaps between the SDP and CSU. Merkel has been invited to visit Washington at some point in 2014 by President Obama, [2] Merkel can’t afford for her own diplomacy to have as little result as Friedrich’s.

[1] Deutsche Welle, ‘SPF, Greens slam Interior Minister Friedrich after US surveillance talks in Washington’, dw.de, 13 July 2013, http://www.dw.de/spd-greens-slam-interior-minister-friedrich-after-us-surveillance-talks-in-washington/a-16949123

[2] Reuters, ‘Obama invites Merkel to visit during call about trade, NATO’, 8 January 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/08/us-usa-germany-obama-merkel-idUSBREA071CR20140108"

Politics is about action. The German government has to take some action on the issue of NSA surveillance and German privacy or it will look weak. Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich went to Washington in July but was accused of “returning empty-handed” and having “not moved a single step forward on any of the key points”. [1] The stonewalling by the United States provides an opportunity for opponents to Damage Merkel’s new government as well as potentially to show gaps between the SDP and CSU. Merkel has been invited to visit Washington at some point in 2014 by President Obama, [2] Merkel can’t afford for her own diplomacy to have as little result as Friedrich’s.

[1] Deutsche Welle, ‘SPF, Greens slam Interior Minister Friedrich after US surveillance talks in Washington’, dw.de, 13 July 2013, http://www.dw.de/spd-greens-slam-interior-minister-friedrich-after-us-surveillance-talks-in-washington/a-16949123

[2] Reuters, ‘Obama invites Merkel to visit during call about trade, NATO’, 8 January 2014, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/01/08/us-usa-germany-obama-merkel-idUSBREA071CR20140108
