As head of the federal police, Dieter Romann is, to put it mildly, controversial. Now there is speculation that he could go into politics.
From
Markus Balser and Robert Roßmann, Berlin
You can tell who’s in charge here as soon as you arrive. An icy wind blows across the federal police compound on the outskirts of Potsdam. Dieter Romann stands like a little ruler on the balcony of his old service villa. No jacket, just a black sweater. The 60-year-old puffs on a hand-rolled cigarette and points to a monument just a few meters away. Romann says he himself arranged for the memorial to be erected within sight of his office for employees who died on the job. Among the fifty honorees on a metal plaque: GSG-9 officer Michael Newrzella. He died 30 years ago fighting RAF terrorists in Bad Kleinen. Or the bodyguard Mirko K. – he was shot from behind almost ten years ago in Yemen’s capital Sanaa. “It reminds me of what my most important job is here,” says Romann. “The protection of those entrusted to me.”