Merkel Has 'Re-Ignited a Culture War'

[kristopher]

Spiegel Online - The World from Berlin

Merkel Has 'Re-Ignited a Culture War' Over Nuclear Power

A leader of the Green Party's parliamentary group in Berlin, Renate Künast, told German TV that the protests were the "biggest that Gorleben has ever seen." She said protesters had responded to a "political provocation" by Angela Merkel's government, which in October officially changed a cherished Green Party phase-out of the nation's nuclear power plants.

...The leftist daily Die Tageszeitung writes: "With their protests against the Castor train to Gorleben, nuclear power opponents have scored a clear win on points against Merkel's government. The massive show of participation by demonstrators shows that the government's hasty decision to extend nuclear-plant lifespans has led to more political engagement in Germany, rather than resignation ... It's now clear that people from all levels of society took to the streets out of personal conviction against the government's irresponsible policies. The attempt to tar them as violent troublemakers has failed."

The center-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung argues:

The center-left Süddeutsche Zeitung writes...

The left-leaning Berliner Zeitung writes...

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,728340,00.html

[bananas]

1. k&r nt

[kristopher]

2. Now the LibDems in Uk are starting to walk back from the Conservatives.

We'll have to wait and see the details of their internal election, but I'm guessing a big part of it is the promise by the Conservatives that nuclear can go forward only with no subsidies.
The nuclear industry is already squawking that they need at least three different types of subsidies and I suspect the Conservatives are working very hard to get them for the nuclear industry in spite of their commitment to the Lib Dems..