Merkel battles to stop spy scandal hitting poll hopes

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is stepping up efforts to head off the threat posed to her re-election bid by the scandal surrounding allegations of rampant US surveillance of Europe’s communication networks.

Instead of Germany’s solid economic performance and Merkel’s deft handling of the euro debt crisis, the campaign for the September 22 election has been dominated recently by claims that her government knew the US was collating information from online services in Europe.

The uproar in Germany was triggered by US whistleblower Edward Snowden’s disclosures that the US National Security Agency (NSA) was spying on allied governments and their citizens through the so-called PRISM programme.

In addition to speaking to US President Barack Obama on the issue, Merkel has also called for strict European Union rules on the protection of personal data and demanded that US intelligence services adhere to German law.

Germans are particularly sensitive when it comes to privacy and data protection issues, largely as a result of the aggressive surveillance of citizens carried out by the Nazi regime and later by Communist authorities in the former East Germany.

This leaves Merkel facing a possible political backlash even if more damaging claims of intrusive behaviour by intelligence agencies and their exchange of information emerge ahead of the election.

But Opinion polls so far show that the revelations about the global eavesdropping by the US have had little effect on the election campaign.

Based on a survey released the other day by pollsters Forsa, Merkel’s conservative Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian-based Christian Social Union (CSU) allies appear set to remain the largest political bloc in parliament after the election - with about 41% of the vote.

The poll shows Merkel with a popularity rating of 57% compared to her main challenger, SPD (Social Democratic Party) chancellor candidate Peter Steinbrueck, who is backed by just 20% of voters.

Having  failed to dent Merkel’s commanding lead in opinion polls, the opposition  has moved to increase the pressure on Merkel by portraying her as having mishandled the scandal.

Underlying the risks for Merkel have been attempts by the junior member of her coalition, the liberal Free Democrats (FDP), to bolster their weak poll numbers by taking the high ground on the issue.

The government must “take more action,” said Gisela Piltz, an FDP member of the parliamentary interior committee, the other day.

The Internet activist Pirate Party also hopes the anger in Germany about the US snooping claims might translate into votes for them in September.

“(Germany) is going down the wrong road,” warned the party’s general secretary, Katharina Nocun, this week. “We are in danger of sacrificing democracy.”