BERLIN (dpa-AFX) - In view of alleged Russian plans against the head of Rheinmetall, calls for more powers for the German security authorities are growing louder again. Saxony's Interior Minister Armin Schuster (CDU) has made corresponding demands. In response, Green parliamentary group deputy leader Konstantin von Notz told the German Press Agency: "The situation is too serious to play party politics." SPD politician Jens Zimmermann spoke of reflexive demands.

According to information from the US broadcaster CNN, the plot against the Rheinmetall boss was uncovered by American intelligence services.

Schuster told the "Bild" newspaper: "I have a massive problem with the fact that we constantly need information from abroad." The security authorities there have "the instruments with which they gain these insights, for which I cannot find a political majority here in Germany".

Interior Minister: get ahead of the situation

North Rhine-Westphalia's Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) told the "Bild" newspaper: "We have to get ahead of the situation, early information is the core of the whole business. Information that is exciting can no longer be obtained on the street or by hanging out in the pub, but online. So you need skills."

It is true that Western intelligence services generally generate a great deal of information in their joint work, as the former high-ranking employee of the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) and current security expert Gerhard Conrad explained on ARD's Tagesthemen. But it is also true that "the German services are regulated much more restrictively in reconnaissance, telecommunications reconnaissance and other areas". They are not allowed to do what other services - especially in the USA - are allowed to do. "You have to consider whether these trade-offs that were made in the past are still viable today."

Schuster: Highly risky to have to rely on foreign countries

In the view of Schuster and the CDU/CSU, the following are necessary: data retention, i.e. the storage of location and traffic data of telecommunications without cause in order to have it available for anti-terrorism investigations if necessary; so-called source telecommunications surveillance, which takes effect before encryption or after decryption, as well as online searches. The state minister said: "These are the methods by which the Americans can give us valuable information. But if we are not allowed to do anything - I think it is highly risky to have to rely on information from abroad again and again." Data retention has long been controversial.

Report: Plans uncovered

According to CNN, US intelligence agencies uncovered plans by the Russian government to assassinate Armin Papperger, CEO of Germany's largest arms manufacturer Rheinmetall, at the beginning of the year. The German side was then informed and the 61-year-old was subsequently given special protection. Rheinmetall is one of the largest European suppliers of tank technology and artillery shells for Ukraine. In June, the company opened a repair workshop for infantry fighting vehicles in western Ukraine. The production of new tanks is also planned.

The Kremlin denied alleged plans for an attack. Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) had said that she would "not comment on individual threats". "But one thing is very clear: we are taking the significantly increased threat of Russian aggression very seriously."

Ampel politicians reject demands

FDP interior politician Manuel Hoferlin told dpa: "The reflexive call for old and unsuitable surveillance instruments such as data retention does not help if you want to strengthen security. The case of the attack plans on the Rheinmetall boss in particular shows that other and more targeted findings are needed than the unprovoked storage of all login data of all people in Germany." Instead, the case shows how important and valuable cooperation between intelligence services is. "Both we and the other countries benefit from this."

Traffic light wants reform

Green parliamentary group deputy leader von Notz said that the traffic light coalition was currently working on a comprehensive reform of the law governing intelligence services. SPD politician Zimmermann also referred to this. The CDU/CSU should also take note of the fact that the Federal Constitutional Court has set clear limits for the work of the intelligence services, he told dpa. All responsible departments of the federal government, from the Chancellery to the Ministry of the Interior to the Ministry of Defense, had been led by the CDU and CSU for 16 years, he said, and they were therefore largely responsible for the current state of counterintelligence.

Von Notz said that the blanket claim that Germany has tougher restrictions than other constitutional states is misleading because the legal situation and the case law of the high courts are much more differentiated. "However, it is true that a country like the USA spends many times more money than Germany invests in this area. For this reason, we are calling for a special fund for internal and external security."/and/DP/he