BND President Bruno Kahl will likely become ambassador to the Vatican

Berlin. It's an open secret in Berlin: Bruno Kahl wants to leave Berlin and move to Rome. The president of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) wants to become ambassador to the Vatican – and end his career there. The German magazine "Spiegel" reported in early April that Kahl had signaled interest behind the scenes and explored his prospects. These prospects are now apparently improving. The question is no longer whether the BND chief will move, but when.

"I hear that things are becoming more concrete," a member of the Bundestag with extensive knowledge of the agencies told the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND). However, there is "still a need for coordination." The appointment is part of an overall package of ambassadorial appointments, which the Foreign Office is expected to decide on soon. The need for coordination also means that a successor for Kahl must be found.

It comes as no surprise that Kahl, who succeeded Gerhard Schindler as President of the Foreign Intelligence Service in 2016, wants to resign. He has held the position for nine years, after all. Moreover, the BND has repeatedly made headlines in recent years. In 2021, it was accused of failing to foresee the Taliban's return to power in Afghanistan. A similar story occurred a year later with regard to Russia's war against Ukraine, which Kahl witnessed in the capital Kyiv, of all places, raising questions. At the end of 2022, the head of the department, Carsten L., was arrested. He had spied for Moscow.

In July 2024, a report circulated that two BND employees had gotten into a physical altercation at a summer party. This was apparently due in no small part to excessive alcohol consumption. Meanwhile, recruits are hard to come by.

Workers hang the poster of the new image campaign of the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) with the inscription "Come behind it" on the fence of the service's headquarters.

Source: Kay Nietfeld/dpa

The BND's successes, on the other hand, are less visible—which, in turn, doesn't mean they don't exist. Admittedly, successfully foiled terrorist attacks, for example, are less likely to stick and are often attributed to tips from foreign intelligence agencies.

In a word: The intelligence business is arduous. It would therefore not be surprising if 62-year-old Kahl had grown somewhat weary of this business and accepted that a move to Italy would drastically reduce the number of his employees, from over 6,000 to just a handful. More importantly, Kahl is a devout Catholic and a regular churchgoer. Church circles are therefore full of praise for his appointment to Rome, saying it was "a direct hit."

The support of Friedrich Merz, whose Chancellery is subordinate to the BND, and his Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (both CDU), who is responsible for the ambassadorial posts, would also not be surprising. Kahl accompanied her party colleague Wolfgang Schäuble, who died in 2023, for over 20 years in various roles: as head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group and as Federal Minister of the Interior and Finance before joining the BND in 2016. And Merz was close friends with Schäuble. All of this should ensure goodwill.

There is a precedent: former Federal Minister of Education Annette Schavan, a confidante of Angela Merkel. The Christian Democrat was sent to the Vatican in 2014.

Kahl's successors have long been discussed. One candidate, according to parliamentary circles, is administrative lawyer Arne Schlatmann. He served as the first permanent representative of the Parliamentary Control Committee from 2017 to 2022 and is therefore well-versed in the services. Martin Jäger is mentioned as the second candidate. He served as spokesman for the Federal Ministry of Finance under Schäuble and is currently the German ambassador to Kyiv. Neither would represent a generational change, however. Both Schlatmann and Jäger were born in 1964.

What is certain is that changes are imminent at the top of all German security agencies. The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) has been without a president since its former president, Thomas Haldenwang, announced at the end of last year that he intended to enter the Bundestag for the CDU. Vice President Sinan Selen, along with Federal Minister of the Interior Alexander Dobrindt (CSU), has been announced for the presentation of the BfV's report on Tuesday.

The level-headed and universally respected President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, turns 64 in August. The head of the Federal Police, Dieter Romann, will turn 64 in May next year. Romann, who has occasionally flirted with a political career, is now experiencing a second spring in his step. At the beginning of Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser's (SPD) term, it was considered certain that she would replace him. The two had nothing in common politically or personally. Today, Romann can be pleased that Dobrindt is doing exactly what he had wished for years ago: The minister is closing the borders to asylum seekers.

For this reason alone, Dieter Romann's appointment as ambassador to the Vatican would be a real sensation. With Bruno Kahl, things are quite different.