2023-04-18 05:55:10
CSU boss Markus Söder justified his wish for the continued operation of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant under Bavarian responsibility with the energy policy of the federal government. The federal government is persistently refusing to “take the Bavarian energy supply only approximately or the southern German seriously, while other federal states have promised to get new gas-fired power plants off the ground,” said the Bavarian Prime Minister on Monday. Neither Bavaria nor Baden-Württemberg were offered alternatives for the coal-fired power plants that were no longer available.
“We now expect a quick solution. And otherwise we actually offer to advance the responsibility,” said Söder. Söder left it open how exactly he wanted to do this. The aim of the proposal is to bring stability to energy policy over the next few years.
Söder also emphasized that the implementation of the nuclear phase-out, which was once supported by the CSU, was a “stubborn decision against the majority of the population” and against a majority in the European Union. This “serious mistake” will cause lasting damage to Germany and is not very credible. On the one hand, nuclear power plants in the Ukraine could not be considered safe and good, but in Germany the phase-out could be propagated and the lost energy then compensated with “nuclear power from somewhere else”.
Söder also has an answer to legal concerns
With a view to legal concerns about the operation of the nuclear reactor under Bavarian supervision, Söder pointed out that the federal states had previously been technically and legally solely responsible – including the respective storage of nuclear waste on site.
With reference to Finland, Söder also did not accept the accusation that “they had changed their minds”. The critical attitude there was once “more resolute”, but now the country is back to nuclear energy. If science reassesses something, it is “forgetful about the future and just stubborn not to accept these findings”. When asked, he explained that final storage for a million years was not very pragmatic – “there is new reactor research today that even makes the issue of nuclear waste solvable”. According to this, energy can be obtained from nuclear waste.
Meanwhile, CDU leader Friedrich Merz wants to examine Söder’s demand for nuclear power plants to continue to be operated under state government. In view of the consequences of the nuclear phase-out for the supply situation, “all conceivable alternatives for a better energy supply can be discussed – including this proposal from Bavaria,” said Merz. He also criticized the decommissioning of the last three German nuclear power plants as a “hasty decision by the federal government” – “ultimately enforced by the Greens”. Söder defended his proposal against criticism from the traffic light coalition, which was meant seriously.
Merz also referred to the consequences of the nuclear phase-out. “Yesterday we saw how nuclear power literally had to be imported from France and coal-fired power from Poland overnight,” he said. “Prices have already gone up again overnight.”
Especially for countries in the south of the country such as Bavaria or Baden-Württemberg, the decreed shutdown of the nuclear power plants is an “unfriendly act” because of their special supply situation, said Merz. He criticized “a purely ideological decision” by the federal government – “ultimately enforced by the Greens”.
Lemke rejects nuclear power plant operation in the state administration
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) rejected Söder’s proposal to transfer responsibility for nuclear power to the federal states. With the FDP, which had campaigned for longer nuclear power plant runtimes before the last reactors in Germany were switched off, Söder’s demand caused astonishment and criticism.
Lemke insisted on the responsibility of the federal government for nuclear power and pointed out that the federal states acted on the issue on behalf of the federal government. “It is downright depressing how a Prime Minister so carelessly ignores licensing and constitutional issues and aspects of nuclear safety,” said the Green politician of the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and the “Bild” newspaper. “Even if you want to bring the reactor back online, as Mr Söder obviously wants, it is not enough to legally grant it a new term. The reactor would have to be re-approved, so to speak.”
Söder throw himself “behind a crazy train”
Former Federal Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin (Greens) told WELT that Söder “threw himself behind a crazy train with a big gesture”. According to the Basic Law, the responsibility for nuclear energy lies with the federal government, the states only carry this out on behalf of the federal government. “That also applies to Bavaria, even during election campaigns,” emphasized Trittin. From the point of view of Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt, Söder has implicitly made a commitment to store nuclear waste in Bavaria, as she said on the ARD program “Anne Will”.
FDP politicians were surprised by Söder’s statements. Secretary General Bijan Djir-Sarai once again made it clear in the “Rheinische Post” that the FDP had sympathy for longer nuclear power plant operations. Djir-Sarai said in the direction of Söder: “By the time a law for the federalization of power generation from nuclear energy had been passed, he would probably have changed his mind again.” As Bavarian Minister of the Environment, Söder also pushed ahead with the nuclear phase-out.
FDP Vice Johannes Vogel made a similar statement. “Markus Söder changes his positions like underpants,” said Vogel on the ARD program “Anne Will”. “I wouldn’t want to give someone that erratic the responsibility for energy policy,” added Vogel.
Lower Saxony’s Environment Minister Christian Meyer spoke out clearly against continued operation. “For us in Lower Saxony, it stays the same: the nuclear phase-out decided years ago was actually completed at the weekend with the shutdown of the last nuclear power plants. And there is no going back – no ifs or buts,” said the Green politician. Meyer continued: “We already know enough about misguided and absurd heckling from Bavaria. It would be better if Bavaria finally did its homework on the subject of wind energy and grid expansion.”
In the CDU, on the other hand, Söder finds other supporters of his idea in addition to Merz. Union faction vice Jens Spahn wrote on Twitter, pragmatic solutions are needed now. “If Bavaria is willing to take on the political and technical responsibility for continued operation, the federal government should make this possible,” he emphasized. The parliamentary manager of the Union faction, Thorsten Frei (CDU), told the “Rheinische Post” that giving up nuclear energy was a wrong decision. “It is therefore right and an expression of his responsibility as Prime Minister that Markus Söder considers all possibilities to avert this gross mistake after all.”
And the deputy CDU chairman Carsten Linnemann spoke out in favor of the continued operation of the Isar 2 nuclear power plant under Bavarian self-government. “Legally, he needs a majority and has to change a federal law, that’s how it is,” said Linnemann in the RTL / ntv “early start” about Söder’s proposal. “Germany is currently in an ’emergency situation’,” said the CDU deputy. Because “a third of the companies that now invest abroad invest abroad solely for cost reasons”.
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