Germany depends on Russian gas. They are shutting down their nuclear reactors and coalplants because they want to be perfectly “green” to save the world. So now Russian gas is the only thing that protects them from utter darkness and freezing cold.
The decision was based on security issues with the past generation of reactors, it seems. At no point did the public debate consider the possibility of building a new generation of (better performing and safer) reactors.
Sort of like driving a 84 Lada and saying “I will never drive a car again in my life because this one is unsafe and breaks down every three minutes.”
I thought it was a reaction to the Fukushima ‘disaster’. I thought at the time that it was an overreaction since Germany doesn’t suffer earthquakes or tsunamis, and the Japanese event had negligible casualties.
For sure Fukushima played a role, though actually the ‘Atomausstieg’ predated it by over a decade – under the wise and disinterested leadership of Herrn Schröder.
The CDU was less gung-ho about abandoning Germany’s cleanest, safest and least strategically dependent form of energy. The decommissioning had, in fact, been paused during Merkel’s first term. And as you hinted, the decommissioning was quickly accelerated following Fukushima.
Again, whether it made sense to decommission these old reactors sooner rather than later is beyond my technical competence to say. But what was conspicuously absent was any thoughts of replacing them with safer, newer alternatives.
Entirely coincidentally, Decomissioner-in-Chief Schröder started work for Gazprom virtually the day he left office and has been instrumental in laying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. He can now be seen toasting Vlad with the finest of French champagnes. That’s what happened the last time the SPD occupied the Chancellery.
Matt M
2 years ago
Katja Hoyer is fast becoming one of my favourite writers here and at The Spectator. Great insight into German politics without the sneering anti-Brexit/British/US tone that often accompanies this type of report.
Katharine Eyre
2 years ago
This article in FAZ yesterday was very good: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/olaf-scholz-bei-joe-biden-bizarres-schauspiel-im-weissen-haus-17788140.html
It basically rips into Scholz and says that the reluctance to be clear about NS2 in Washington was due to sensitivities within his own party – parts of which are very pro-Russian indeed.
So, basically, he outsourced his own party management to Biden, who made the critical statements for him.
Logical in a way – but leadership it was not.
The German political class just don’t want to leave the amniotic sac of the Merkel era and tbh, at this point, it is a little embarrassing to watch.
Side note: Scholz is also under fire for resisting calls to release documents relating to the use of the EU post-corona restructuring fund. This “keep your mouth shut and wait it out” approach is just not cutting the mustard…
I suspect an underreported aspect of this story is Germany’s distrust of America as an ally. Germany recognizes the political schisms in the US and doesn’t know where America is headed in the future. They also don’t want to take sides between America and China. They’ve become professional fence sitters and I’m not sure the German people can fairly criticize Scholz because they elected him and his hopelessly divided coalition government.
That distrust extends to Austrians too. There is an awful lot of anti-American bile sprayed around here, which seems a tad ungrateful when America has expended vast amounts of resources to guarantee Europe’s security these last 80 years.
John Hicks
2 years ago
German relations with the Russians must be one of the great mysteries of post war strategy and understanding. That the Russians killed/murdered 76% (German Red Cross figures, 2005) of all the 4.3m German fatalities in that conflict, makes these love/admiration/considerations more puzzling. Hopefully Katja Hoyer’s promised history of the GDR will contain some explanations for this most deadly relationship
R Wright
2 years ago
I wonder what old Bismarck would think of the modern German people.
Well, he did say the secret of success in politics was to make a good treaty with Russia, which the government certainly seems to be bearing in mind.
Ian Stewart
2 years ago
Following the various western news outlets on this issue it’s making Germany look extremely bad.
I’m interested to understand if Germans realise the very negative western view of Germany and if they just don’t care about it?
Germany depends on Russian gas. They are shutting down their nuclear reactors and coalplants because they want to be perfectly “green” to save the world. So now Russian gas is the only thing that protects them from utter darkness and freezing cold.
Closing nuclear reactors today was never going to make the world any greener.
Idiotic decision to close them – then or now.
The decision was based on security issues with the past generation of reactors, it seems. At no point did the public debate consider the possibility of building a new generation of (better performing and safer) reactors.
Sort of like driving a 84 Lada and saying “I will never drive a car again in my life because this one is unsafe and breaks down every three minutes.”
I thought it was a reaction to the Fukushima ‘disaster’. I thought at the time that it was an overreaction since Germany doesn’t suffer earthquakes or tsunamis, and the Japanese event had negligible casualties.
For sure Fukushima played a role, though actually the ‘Atomausstieg’ predated it by over a decade – under the wise and disinterested leadership of Herrn Schröder.
The CDU was less gung-ho about abandoning Germany’s cleanest, safest and least strategically dependent form of energy. The decommissioning had, in fact, been paused during Merkel’s first term. And as you hinted, the decommissioning was quickly accelerated following Fukushima.
Again, whether it made sense to decommission these old reactors sooner rather than later is beyond my technical competence to say. But what was conspicuously absent was any thoughts of replacing them with safer, newer alternatives.
Entirely coincidentally, Decomissioner-in-Chief Schröder started work for Gazprom virtually the day he left office and has been instrumental in laying the Nord Stream 2 pipeline. He can now be seen toasting Vlad with the finest of French champagnes. That’s what happened the last time the SPD occupied the Chancellery.
Katja Hoyer is fast becoming one of my favourite writers here and at The Spectator. Great insight into German politics without the sneering anti-Brexit/British/US tone that often accompanies this type of report.
This article in FAZ yesterday was very good: https://www.faz.net/aktuell/politik/olaf-scholz-bei-joe-biden-bizarres-schauspiel-im-weissen-haus-17788140.html
It basically rips into Scholz and says that the reluctance to be clear about NS2 in Washington was due to sensitivities within his own party – parts of which are very pro-Russian indeed.
So, basically, he outsourced his own party management to Biden, who made the critical statements for him.
Logical in a way – but leadership it was not.
The German political class just don’t want to leave the amniotic sac of the Merkel era and tbh, at this point, it is a little embarrassing to watch.
Side note: Scholz is also under fire for resisting calls to release documents relating to the use of the EU post-corona restructuring fund. This “keep your mouth shut and wait it out” approach is just not cutting the mustard…
I suspect an underreported aspect of this story is Germany’s distrust of America as an ally. Germany recognizes the political schisms in the US and doesn’t know where America is headed in the future. They also don’t want to take sides between America and China. They’ve become professional fence sitters and I’m not sure the German people can fairly criticize Scholz because they elected him and his hopelessly divided coalition government.
That distrust extends to Austrians too. There is an awful lot of anti-American bile sprayed around here, which seems a tad ungrateful when America has expended vast amounts of resources to guarantee Europe’s security these last 80 years.
German relations with the Russians must be one of the great mysteries of post war strategy and understanding. That the Russians killed/murdered 76% (German Red Cross figures, 2005) of all the 4.3m German fatalities in that conflict, makes these love/admiration/considerations more puzzling. Hopefully Katja Hoyer’s promised history of the GDR will contain some explanations for this most deadly relationship
I wonder what old Bismarck would think of the modern German people.
He would probably forecast some more blood and iron heading their way.
Well, he did say the secret of success in politics was to make a good treaty with Russia, which the government certainly seems to be bearing in mind.
Following the various western news outlets on this issue it’s making Germany look extremely bad.
I’m interested to understand if Germans realise the very negative western view of Germany and if they just don’t care about it?