The Chancellor speaks a word of power in the nuclear dispute, but peace does not return – there is some clear criticism from the Greens. Economics Minister Habeck is trying to close the ranks.
Economics Minister Robert Habeck campaigned with his irritated Greens for the Chancellor’s decision in the nuclear dispute. The Greens parliamentary group leadership wants to discuss how they will deal with the fact that Olaf Scholz (SPD) wants the three remaining nuclear power plants to be able to continue running until mid-April 2023.
The Chancellor’s word of power met with clear criticism from the Greens in Lower Saxony. “The fact that Olaf Scholz has withdrawn the directive competence for a limited continued operation of the Emsland nuclear power plant is unnecessary and without any technical basis,” said the Green politicians Julia Willie Hamburg and Christian Meyer in a statement distributed on Tuesday. This would block the expansion and use of renewable energies. The additional amount of electricity from the Emsland nuclear power plant is minimal.
Former Federal Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin also criticized Scholz’s decision, and the Green Youth reacted indignantly. “That’s Basta politics, and we don’t need it,” said the co-head of the Green youth organization, Timon Dzienus, of the German Press Agency. A debate in the Bundestag on the subject is necessary.
Baden-Württemberg’s Prime Minister Winfried Kretschmann, on the other hand, can live with the power word. “I have no problem with that,” said the Green politician on Tuesday in Stuttgart. “He must have thought something,” he said of Scholz. But Kretschmann also said that he would have found it better if Scholz had spoken his word of power before the Lower Saxony elections. “I didn’t think that was so brave.”
Scholz uses policy competence
Scholz declared a day-long dispute within the traffic light coalition, especially between the Greens and the FDP, with a clear announcement. The Chancellor instructed the responsible ministers to make legislative proposals so that the three nuclear power plants Isar 2, Neckarwestheim 2 and Emsland can continue to operate beyond the end of the year until April 15, 2023 at the latest. Scholz made use of his guideline authority. Accordingly, the chancellor “determines the guidelines of politics and is responsible for them”.
“The decision is technically not justified, it is not covered by the stress test, it is politically extremely questionable,” said Trittin, a member of the Green Bundestag, on ZDF. “I think it will be a very difficult operation.”
In view of the discord, Habeck appealed to his party’s sense of responsibility. Asked whether he thought it conceivable that the Greens group in the Bundestag could refuse to support Scholz’s decision, Habeck said he didn’t think that would happen. “Because the country, Europe, is in a serious crisis and putting the government at risk in this situation doesn’t seem proportionate to me at all,” he said on ARD.
Habeck: Proposal “I can live with”
At the same time, Habeck pointed out that the nuclear issue was a “highly charged political issue”. “This question has shaped generations, has shaped German politics, and in that respect it’s an exceptional situation.” In the “muddled situation”, Scholz has now made a suggestion “with which I can work, with which I can live,” said Habeck. “We had to get out of it somehow,” he added, referring to the dispute.
The chairmen of the Greens pointed out that the decision fulfills one of the party’s main concerns: that no new fuel rods will be procured and that ultimately all German nuclear power plants will go offline. However, the Emsland nuclear power plant is not necessary for grid stability, said co-chairman Ricarda Lang of the dpa. “Accordingly, we do not consider continued operation necessary.” Co-boss Omid Nouripour made a similar statement on Twitter.
At a party conference over the weekend, the Greens decided to support so-called stretching operations for the Isar 2 and Neckarwestheim 2 kilns until mid-April 2023, as suggested by Habeck. The FDP had called for the third nuclear power plant in Emsland to be kept connected to the grid and for all three reactors to run until 2024. If necessary, nuclear power plants that have already been shut down should be reactivated.
FDP hopes for falling prices
Finance Minister Christian Lindner’s party welcomed the Chancellor’s decision – although it also fell short of their demands. The energy policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Michael Kruse, recorded the decision as support for his party. “The result of the negotiations shows that well-founded positions prevail.” He also expects prices to fall as a result, because the signal is being sent that more electricity will be available.
Left faction leader Dietmar Bartsch dismissed Scholz’s decision as “absurd smear theater”. “This decision comes after the election in Lower Saxony and after the federal party conference of the Greens. This was neither about the citizens nor about the security of supply, but exclusively about the egos of Habeck and Lindner,” Bartsch told the newspapers of the Funke media group.
Scholz also received criticism from the Union for his initiative. His decision was not a word of power, but a “sign of weakness,” said the economic policy spokeswoman for the Union faction, Julia Klöckner. “Citizens and companies are waiting for real relief, which can only be achieved through more energy.”