AOn Monday, many were surprised by Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s word of power that the three nuclear power plants should run until April 15, 2023. But the green and liberal ministers in the traffic light coalition knew in advance, explained Federal Finance Minister Christian Lindner at Maischberger.
“My basic conviction has not changed as a result of the decision,” said Lindner. Had he been able to decide on his own, new fuel rods would be ordered for use next winter should the energy situation remain poor. It is also not a problem to store or sell the fuel rods if there is no need. “But we’re trying to get through the next few winters well, even with the decision that has now been made,” said Lindner.
Christian Lindner demands liquid gas imports, coal-fired power plants and active French nuclear power plants
“You have to assume that the chancellor will not write a letter to his vice chancellor and the finance minister and they will be surprised by the content,” said the FDP leader. “If that were the case, the coalition would have a trust problem. But that’s not the case.” Economics Minister Robert Habeck would have known in advance, confirmed Lindner.
The 43-year-old demanded that energy policy should be approached without ideology. Germany could be further decarbonised through “liquefied gas imports”, the coal-fired power plants would have to be kept connected to the grid, and the French would have to get their nuclear power plants back on the grid as quickly as possible.
Jessica Berlin (left to right), Ulrike Herrmann, Stefan Aust and Sandra Maischberger
Source: WDR/© WDR/Oliver Ziebe
At the same time, Germany must pay more attention to its own oil and gas reserves in the North Sea and in the country. “Even fracking is responsible,” said the FDP politician. “It is very deep, the drinking water is not at risk and there is no risk of earthquakes.”
Sandra Maischberger also asked the Liberal party leader about the poor poll numbers and the election defeat in the Lower Saxony state parliament. The FDP recently failed at the 5 percent hurdle. He wants to concentrate on the federal government until 2025, only “then you can ask me about party politics again,” he said. His priority now is: “Bringing the country through the crisis.” The success of the FDP comes from advancing the country and the people, said Lindner.
“Germany must better coordinate its energy policy with Europe”
The journalist Ulrike Herrmann (“taz”), political scientist Jessica Berlin and WELT editor Stefan Aust saw the power word as a strength of the chancellor. “I think the others were waiting for his word of power,” said Aust. However, he does not see an end to the nuclear power plant’s term as being fully discussed.
Herrmann said you can’t continue to rely on nuclear power plants because Germany wants to be climate-neutral in 23 years. The Greens wanted to keep the planned shutdown of all three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany until the end of the year.
Jessica Berlin suspected that the Green Ministers would have wanted to stick to the line of their party base for a long time, despite better knowledge that the nuclear power plants would have to run longer to deal with the energy crisis. “Germany must coordinate its energy policy better with Europe and also focus more on digitization,” she demanded.
Stefan Aust describes it as an “illusion to believe that an industrialized country can be supplied with renewable energies in any way.” “If we want 35 percent, we need 300,000 wind turbines.” Germany has around 360,000 square kilometers of land area, which would be one wind turbine per square kilometer. Aust: “Good luck.”
Iran since the Islamic Revolution: “Women were no longer people”
Maischberger spoke about the unrest in Iran with two other guests: Iranian-born Nargess Eskandari-Grünberg (Frankfurt Mayor, Greens) and Omid Nouripour (Greens party leader). In Iran, the regime is taking relentless action against the protests in the country. For weeks, demonstrators have been taking to the streets and being beaten up by police officers or disappearing into Evin prison, where many political prisoners are being held.
Eskandari-Grünberg spent a year and a half in the notorious prison on the northern outskirts of the capital, Tehran. At the age of 17 she took to the streets to protest, and when she was a schoolgirl she carried a self-painted poster with the inscription “Freedom and Democracy”. “Women weren’t people anymore,” said the 57-year-old.
The Islamic Revolution followed at the end of the 1970s, and the Islamic Republic came into being under the leadership of Ruhollah Khomeini. “A woman could no longer choose a career, had to wear a headscarf, and could not appear as a witness in a trial,” explained Eskandari-Grünberg. On the other hand, she took to the streets and was imprisoned for a year and a half. “The way people are protesting today, cutting their hair and burning their headscarves, that makes me emotional and proud,” said the psychotherapist.
Minor executed in Iran: “For distributing flyers”
Several prisoners recently died in a fire in Evin prison. The Greens politician described her experiences in the institution at Maischberger. There was blood on the walls, she sometimes had to wear a blindfold for days and witnessed executions. They gave birth to their daughter, actress Maryam Zaree, while in custody. “And we do business with Iran and just watch,” criticized Eskandari-Grünberg.
Nouripour’s uncle was executed in the same prison. “As a minor because he distributed flyers,” said the Greens boss. “The prison is the symbol of the oppression of the last 43 years.” At the age of 13, Nouripour came to Germany. And calls for tough sanctions against Iran. “It needs pressure on the regime.” He compared the situation to the Ukraine war, where civilians are dying. “So many people, so many children, are being killed in Iran.”
Eskandari-Grünberg: “The fight for the emancipation of women in the world is also being fought there in Iran.” She is demanding that Germany stop all political and economic negotiations. “No talks about nuclear deals, nor anything else.”
“Kick-off Politics” is WELT’s daily news podcast. The most important topic analyzed by WELT editors and the dates of the day. Subscribe to the podcast at Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music or directly via RSS feed.