Yes, this little issue is why Germany will risk the US as an export market. Just to piss off Obama, because das Merkel is sad the constitutional court prevented her party from implementing very similar measures first.

Please be a little realistic. The ruling parties, with the exception of the Minister of Justice, have been so quiet, it's making the news. Mrs. Schnarrenberger (FDP) is not representative of her party, let alone the government.

Ah OK - somehow I didn't register that as "news" :-)

Edit: Why the downvotes? As a kid, 30 years ago, I would frequently pass by the Echelon antennas. I was told they were for spying on communication. So I thought it was a given for decades that the US (and others) are spying on German businesses. The technology might have changed, but not the facts.

Wikipedia on Echelon http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECHELON