Germany's Scholz and opposition leader spar in budget debate
September 7, 2022
Conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz called the government's energy plan "madness" amid inflated prices. Chancellor Scholz fired back that the current crisis was caused by the policies of Merz's CDU party.
Scholz defended his government's energy policy as prices soarImage: Markus Schreiber/AP/picture alliance
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German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and opposition leader Friedrich Merz engaged in a fierce exchange in Germany's lower house of parliament, the Bundestag, on Wednesday.
The budget debate got heated as Merz, the leader of the center-right Christian Democrats (CDU), accused Scholz's center-left Social Democrats (SPD) and its coalition partners of failing the German people amidst an energy crunch and soaring inflation. He called the coalition "incapable of strategic thought" and reduced to "the lowest common denominator" on which the three parties could all agree.
Scholz, for his part, blamed the CDU, which was in power for 16 years under former Chancellor Angela Merkel of being "incapable of advancing the expansion of renewable energies," and making Germany too reliant on Russian gas.
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What did each side say in the debate?
Merz opened the debate with harsh criticism for Scholz as well as for Robert Habeck, who is both deputy chancellor and economic affairs minister – a brief that also includes energy policy.
"None of us wants to go back to the old nuclear energy, which we ended in Germany in 2011," Merz said, referring to when the country's nuclear phaseout began. "But the economics minister's decision to keep two of those nuclear plants only in reserve was a big mistake," he said.
The CDU leader said that Germany risked becoming the laughingstock of its European neighbors, who he said were surely thinking: "Are these Germans actually crazy to shut down three nuclear power plants in this situation?"
"Stop this madness while we still have the time!" Merz shouted at Scholz.
Scholz countered that it was Merkel's government who left Germany in a precarious position,accusing them of actively blocking the development of renewables.
The CDU, he said, "fought hard against every single wind power station," and made "decisions that are still damaging Germany today."
"That was you!" the chancellor said emphatically, neglecting to note that his SPD ruled in coalition with the CDU from 2005 to 2009 and from 2013 to 2021.
Scholz: Germany rapidly weaning itself off Russian energy
In his speech, Scholz maintained the country would continue "at great speed" to become less dependent on Russian energy.
He said Germany had worked effectively to shift its energy supplies away from Russia, by stockpiling gas, and expediting the construction of gas terminals, placing it in a healthy position for winter. The gas reserves — currently over 86% capacity — will be used to heat homes, generate electricity and power industry. The first gas terminals are due to open this winter.
"Because we started so early, when it wasn't even such a big awareness of the problem in Germany, we are now in a situation that we can head into the winter courageously and bravely — our country can survive," he said, adding that Berlin was working closely with its European partners.
"We have spoken with our friends on the west European coast, with the Netherlands and Belgium for them to expand (LNG) terminals and pipeline capacities with France which will for the first time deliver gas to us."
"What we have achieved with the terminals.... we will guarantee a secure energy supply for Germany," he said.
As Russia scales back its gas deliveries, Scholz's government has restarted shuttered coal power plants, and decided to keep two nuclear power plants on standby instead of closing them at the end of the year as scheduled.
Germany and nuclear power — a love-hate relationship
Nuclear power has been celebrated, condemned, and banned in Germany. As energy imports from Russia came to an end, many began calling for it to make a comeback. Here's a look at the history of a love-hate relationship.
Image: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/picture alliance
It all began with an 'egg'
Germany's first nuclear reactor went online in October 1957 in Garching near Munich. Given its shape, it was nicknamed the "atomic egg" and belonged to Munich's Technical University. It was a landmark in nuclear research and a symbol of a new beginning after WWII. In 1961, Germany began to produce energy for civilian use. Atomic energy was seen as safe and secure.
Image: Heinz-Jürgen Göttert/dpa/picture-alliance
The pushback begins
In the 1970s, opponents of nuclear energy questioned just how clean nuclear power was, seeing as there is no safe storage for spent fuel rods. Thousands of protesters clashed with police during a demonstration against the nuclear power plant Brokdorf, in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein. "Nuclear energy? No thanks," became the rallying cry for German environmentalists.
Image: Klaus Rose/imago images
'Nuclear energy? No thanks'
The danger of nuclear power soon became reality. On March 28, 1979, the plant at Three Mile Island, in the US state of Pennsylvania, had a serious accident. And on April 26, 1986, a reactor at the plant near Chernobyl, in Soviet Ukraine, exploded — causing an unprecedented nuclear disaster. A radioactive cloud spread across Europe. It was a watershed moment for Germany, with rotests gaining steam.
Image: Tim Brakemeier/dpa/picture-alliance
Birth of a new party
In 1980, a new party was founded in West Germany: the Greens. Their members were a mix of left-wingers, peaceniks, environmentalists — and a key contingency, nuclear opponents. The party made entered Bundestag, the German parliament, in 1983. Meanwhile, the Chernobyl accident prompted the creation of an environment ministry in Germany.
Image: AP/picture alliance
Wackersdorf: Tragedy and triumph
The Bavarian town of Wackersdorf was set to get a reprocessing plant for spent nuclear fuel rods, but riots broke out in protest. A number of demonstrators and civil service workers were killed, and hundreds more people were injured. Construction was halted in 1989. The German environmental movement claimed its first major victory — muted by the tragedy of lost lives.
Image: Istvan Bajzat/dpa/picture alliance
Gorleben: Radioactive waste in a salt mine
Meanwhile up north, the town of Gorleben — in the state of Lower Saxony — became a symbol of the fight against nuclear waste. The salt dome there was picked as an interim storage facility for nuclear waste. But already in 1977, a large-scale study revealed that groundwater was seeping in, corroding the barrels holding the waste. This of course posed a major risk of radioactive contamination.
Image: BREUEL-BILD/picture alliance
SPD-Green exit plans
Germany's exit from nuclear power has been marked by flip-flops. The center-left coalition of Social Democrats (SPD) and Greens under Chancellor Gerhard Schröder intended the phaseout of nuclear energy in an agreement with big energy companies in 2001. An individual lifespan was determined for all 19 German nuclear power plants, requiring the last to be shut down by 2021.
Image: picture alliance
Rolling back — then rolling back the rollback
In 2010, the center-right government under Chancellor Angela Merkel revoked the deal and decided to extend the operating lives of Germany's nuclear power plants. But following the nuclear disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan in 2011, Merkel abruptly announced the end to Germany's atomic era. In July 2011, the Bundestag voted to shut down all nuclear reactors by December 31, 2022.
Image: Michael Kappeler /dpa/picture alliance
Celebrating the end of nuclear energy in Germany
After years of especially intense protest, activists in the German towns of Grohnde, Gundremmingen and Brokdorf celebrated when the power plants there were switched off at the end of 2021. But the search for a safe waste repository continues. The nationwide location for a geologically suitable safe site for high-level radioactive waste is to be determined by 2031.
Image: Julian Stratenschulte/dpa/picture alliance
Should we stay or should we go?
In response to energy shortages due to the war in Ukraine, calls became louder to extend the lifespan of Germany's remaining three nuclear power plants. Green Party Economy Minister Robert Habeck (right) reluctantly agreed to put two of them on standby until mid-April. But FDP Finance Minister Christian Lindner advocated extending all remaining power stations' lifespan well into 2024.
Image: Michael Kappeler/picture alliance/dpa
The chancellor decrees an extension
The dispute between the FDP and the Greens turned into a crucial test for the German governing coalition, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz in the end making use of his directives authority. In a letter to the finance, economy and environment ministries, he communicated his decision: The three remaining nuclear power plants are to continue operating until April 15, 2023. Parliament may amend the law.
Image: Markus Schreiber/AP Photo/picture alliance
Phase-out completed... or is it?
When the last three reactors were switched off on April 15, 2023, reactions were mixed. Defenders of nuclear energy argue that it could help Germany meet its goal of carbon neutrality by 2045. And two-thirds of Germans surveyed favored extending the lifespan of nuclear reactors. So Bavaria's Premier Markus Söder vowed to seek a way to continue operating the Isar 2 power station.
Image: :Bayerische Staatskanzlei via SVEN SIMON/IMAGO
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Cost of living crisis
The back-and-forth continued as the debate moved on to inflation and the rising cost of living being felt across Germany.
Left party parliamentary group leader Amira Mohamed Ali accused the coalition of neglecting the needs of many people across the company. She called the government's relief package a "slap in the face" to citizens and demanded that leaders return to the negotiating table with Russia to "ensure the security" of gas supplies.
Christian Dürr, parliamentary group leader for the pro-business Free Democrats (FDP), which is also in the government coalition, categorically rejected the idea of a gas price cap as has been seen in other European countries.
The suggestion of a cap, put forward by the Left and CDU, would "make taxpayers cover the rising cost of energy" themselves, saying it would cost 38 billion euros in public funds.
"We know that many people are afraid" of a decline in standard of living and of poverty, said Green caucus leader Britta Hasselmann, defending the government's plan. "And we are trying to cushion that."
es, aw/msh (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)
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