Horst Seehofer the excitement on Friday would have seemed a bit exaggerated. The 69-year-old has experienced so many crises in his long political life that some things are put into perspective. As a (outgoing) CSU leader and longtime Bavarian prime minister, but also in his offices as federal minister, first for health, later for agriculture.
Anyone who experiences the Federal Minister of the Interior on this Tuesday afternoon, as he informs together with the heads of the competent authorities about the state of the data scandal gets, anyway, a politician to see and hear, acting according to the motto: only the peace.
And one can imagine that Seehofer reacted quite similarly when he was informed - according to his statements at 6:50 am last Friday - about the findings to date in the Ministry of the Interior and the responsible authorities. Hours later, the republic was in turmoil over the supposedly large-scale hacker attack.
The fact that the Interior Minister is only now speaking, has brought him criticism, especially because the speculation in the meantime shot in all directions. Although the suspect was already identified on Sunday and made a preliminary confession on Monday: From Seehofer's point of view, he could not behave any differently. "Everything else would not have been responsible," says the Minister, also for reasons of determination.
The investigators meanwhile go out of the individual act of a 20-year-old student from Hesse, who has tapped from the home of his parents data from celebrities and politicians and then published them on a Twitter account. According to preliminary findings, the young man had angered by certain statements. That no politician of the AfD is among those affected, suggests a similar attitude of the 20-year-old, the investigators do not want to confirm that.
Foreign governments do not seem to be involved
For some politicians, the publications are painful, sometimes mobile phone numbers were distributed by members of the government and private communications - and it is because of the target audience is a "serious process", as the President of the Federal Office for Information Security (BSI), Arne Schönbohm , expresses.
But at the same time, according to Schönbohm, it is a "quantitatively relatively small incident". 994 active or former German politicians are affected. And: No evidence, confirms BKA head Holger Münch, point after the hearing of the suspect on the participation of foreign governments.
In the video: Seehofer to the data theft
ADAM BERRY / EPA-EFE / REX
The latter would have actually made the matter a very serious process. Concerns that, for example, hackers from Russia could obtain sensitive data, are also being dealt with in Germany after the corresponding attacks prior to the recent US presidential election. Instead, everything now points to a child abuser from Homburg-Ohm in Central Hesse.
Concern over foreign hacker attacks is certainly justified for Seehofer. Especially with regard to the upcoming European elections in late May you have to arm yourself, says the CSU politician. However, from the Minister's point of view, the rapid clarification of the case shows that the competent authorities are already well positioned.
Seehofer refers to planned staffing
Is that really true in the case of a real hacker attack? Experts have their doubts - but the Interior Minister sees the BSI and the Federal Criminal Police Office on an even better way: 350 competent bodies for the Federal Office have already been approved, of the 1800 new posts to be settled in the BKA 160 are also explicitly for combating cyber crime. Crime provided, says Seehofer.
And for that, which is important to the Minister, it did not need the current case: The increase in staff had already been decided.
However, the question Seehofer is dealing with is the question of a possible early-warning system. In fact, the authorities had already heard of some first-time data leakages in some politicians in December, but at the time, there seemed to be no link in their view. He is counting on "creative and innovative" suggestions from the heads of the authorities, says Seehofer.
And one thing is also important to him: Absolute security - as in principle in the fight against crime - will not be able to exist in cyberspace, emphasizes the Minister of the Interior.
The crisis manager Seehofer apparently has also learned in all these years: one should not promise the citizens too much.