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Chancellor Angela Merkel vowed on March 17 that Germany would speed up the transition to renewable energy as Europe's top economy mulled a "measured exit" from nuclear power after the events in Japan.
"We want to reach the age of renewable energy as soon as possible. That is our goal," the chancellor told parliament during a fiery speech that drew frequent opposition jeers, indicating the depth of passion over the issue.
Merkel, a former environment minister, called for a "measured exit" from nuclear power and said "everything would be put under the microscope" during a three-month study to consider the future of energy policy in Germany.
Nevertheless, she emphasised that Germany's reactors were "among the safest in the world."
"And I continue to reject the idea that we turn off our reactors in Germany, only then to get our electricity from reactors in other countries. That will not happen while I am around," she vowed.
On March 14, she announced a three-month moratorium on plans approved last year to postpone by more than a decade, until the mid-2030s, when the last of Germany's 17 nuclear reactors are turned off. "We cannot and should not just go back to business as usual," Merkel told parliament.
On March 15, she ordered the temporary shutdown of Germany's seven oldest nuclear reactors while authorities conduct safety probes. At least one was mothballed for good.
"When the apparently impossible happens in such a highly developed country as Japan ... then the whole situation changes," she said.
Merkel added that switching to renewable energy would require a "broad consensus" in society and in parliament. The Social Democrats (SPD) and ecologist Greens vociferously shouted their opposition in parliament, concerned that the moratorium will be no more than a brief delay in the country's nuclear progress. "We want to go back to a nuclear exit in 2020," said SPD leader Sigmar Gabriel.
Merkel said she was confident that the economic impact of the disaster on the tottering global recovery would be relatively contained.
Although the economic effect is "incalculable", she said: "I do not fear significant damage for the world economy."
"However, and I want to emphasise this, we will be working with our international partners to see how we can best minimise the impact," she added.
But if the economic consequences are difficult to foresee, the political result for Merkel of the heated nuclear debate could well be highly damaging. Polls consistently show that nuclear power is unpopular in the country and protests against it regularly attract large crowds. A survey due to be published in mass circulation Bild daily on March 11 showed 70% of the 1,122 voters surveyed approved of the decision to temporarily halt the reactors. But 81% of respondents said they did not believe "credible" Merkel's apparent U-turn on nuclear policy.
More than 100,000 people turned out on March 14 to call for the closure of the country's nuclear facilities across more than 450 towns and cities, according to anti-nuclear campaigners.
In a separate protest on March 12, tens of thousands formed a 45-kilometre (28-mile) human chain between a nuclear plant and Stuttgart. The demo was planned beforehand, but events in Japan swelled numbers. It took place in the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, where on March 27, Merkel's centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU) face losing power after 58 years in charge in a vital state election.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2011
See Also
Japan Quake Setback to Global Nuclear Industry
U.S. Still Wants to Expand Nuclear Energy Says Chu
China Orders Inspections of Nuclear Plants
Germany Shuts Down Seven Reactors Temporarily