Level-headed decision

Even now, following a decision by Germany's Federal Prosecutors Office to open an investigation into surveillance conducted on Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, those with the most critical views will not be satisfied. What about the millions of other Germans, they will ask, who were systematically spied on by the US National Security Agency?

It's a fair question and Chief Federal Prosecutor Harald Range has said he will take them seriously. But he was quick to add that he needed to examine evidence first - which is his right - before making a final decision on the issue. Even in this case, diligence is more important than speed.

His decision to open an investigation into how the US intelligence agency spied on Merkel's phone must have come as a surprise and an embarrassment to the know-it-alls who spent last week spouting on in press release and statements about how he would not take action. The same applies to commentators, politicians and journalists who accused the chief prosecutor of cowardice and suspected the German government had convinced him not to open investigations. The most jaded will suspect that Range gave into public pressure to open the case. And even if that's true, it's his decision to do so that counts.

Obstinacy pays off

The effects that his decision will have on domestic and foreign policy cannot be overestimated. All attempts to play down the NSA scandal have failed. The fact that Angela Merkel's previous coalition government declared the issue closed shortly ahead of German parliamentary elections in September is a particularly ironic footnote in a story that is still far from being finished. What was clearly a campaign maneuver backfired and clearly spurred parliamentary and non-parliamentary inquiries into the matter.

Among the tangible effects is the NSA Parliamentary Inquiry Committee launched in the Bundestag, the lower house of German parliament. In its first public session, former constitutional justices gave testimony accusing the executive branch of serious lapses in the protection of citizens' basic rights. This accusation would, in theory, also apply to the Federal Prosecutors Office, which has a special position at the Federal Court of Justice, the country's highest criminal court, and is officially a part of the executive branch of German government.

Range could have made life a bit easier for himself by calling on Paragraph 153d of the country's code of criminal procedure, which permits him not to start an investigation if it could result in serious damage to the state.

We're watching you too, spies

Instead, Range decided to take the more difficult route and showed that he intends to exercise the powers of his position in accordance with the rule of law. This is a fact that Germany's allies will have to put up with. Range's message is clear: Spies in Germany, regardless of where they are from, should not feel safe when they break the country's fundamental laws.

To guess where the investigations might lead would be pure speculation at this point. The most skeptical voices are already convinced that Range's initiative serves only to calm the storm of initial criticism before inconclusively running aground. Anyone who believes this has no faith in the rule of law and - hopefully - will soon be taught a lesson.

The chief federal prosecutor deserves praise for the manner in which he has handled the largest contemporary legal scandal. It's the others who were partisan, impatient and sometimes even hysterical. Bravo to Harald Range, who did not let himself get caught up in the furor.