German minister wary of giving politicians more protection

German Justice Minister Marco Buschmann has reacted sceptically to an upper house of parliament initiative to provide greater protection for politicians against intimidating attacks on their private lives, reported dpa.

"We will take a close look at the initiative. However, I would caution against creating the impression that politicians in general need to fear their own people," Buschmann told the Funke Mediengruppe newspapers.

The eastern state of Saxony has proposed a law in the Bundesrat, which is made up of Germany's 16 state premiers, that would make influencing public officials and elected representatives through so-called "political stalking" a criminal offence.

This is intended to protect decision-makers - especially in local jurisdictions - from being influenced by threatening attacks on their private lives.

It also calls for better reporting in cases in which mayors have been intimidated and attacked for so long that they resigned.

But Buschmann sees "no obvious gaps in criminal liability." The proposal is creating the impression that current criminal law is insufficient to protect against violent attacks, but Buschmann said the problem isn't a legal one but an enforcement issue.

"The best criminal law is useless if the detection rates are low." Any deterrent effect would then be lost, regardless of how far the penalties go, he said.