German news magazine Der Spiegel spoke with the 54-year-old, who has always been in favor of the company’s plan to phase out nuclear power by the end of 2022. Still — with concerns that Russia is curtailing natural gas supplies.
And he is not the only one like that:
A survey commissioned by DER SPIEGEL revealed some rather shocking figures. According to a poll conducted by online polling company Civey, only 22 percent of those polled are in favor of shutting down the three nuclear power plants still operating in Germany… as planned at the end of the year. Seventy-eight percent of those polled favor keeping the plants running until the summer of 2023, an option being discussed in the political sphere as a “stretch operation” — in other words, continuing to keep them online for a certain amount of time. several months, but without purchasing new fuel rods. Even among Green Party supporters, a narrow majority favors this approach….
The answers show that the German attitude towards nuclear energy has changed significantly. 67% are in favor of keeping nuclear power plants running for the next five years, and only 27% are against it. The only group without a clear majority in favor of running the factories for the next five years are Green Party supporters….
When asked whether Germany should build new nuclear power plants because of the energy crisis, 41 percent of respondents said yes, which means they favor an approach that is not even being discussed in Germany. The results are stunning, especially when compared to past surveys. Thirty-three years ago, the Institute for Sociological Research asked a similar question on behalf of DER SPIEGEL. At the time, only a paltry 3 percent of respondents believed that Germany should build new factories.
Germany is officially supposed to go green, but these poll numbers suggest that people may be interested in returning to the old energy status quo… In recent years, it has become clear that support for abandoning nuclear power has been slowly crumbling. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has accelerated this shift, challenging many old beliefs or overturning them altogether… The energy security that people took for granted for decades in Germany has been shaken since Russia cut off gas supplies and costs rose.
As a result, an old German dogma now seems to be crumbling: the rejection of nuclear energy. Concerns either recede or evaporate. Radiation from nuclear waste? Security risks? Danger of large-scale disasters? What a difference. These are the things you worry about when you have the heat running. First electricity, then ethics.
Thanks to Slashdot reader atcclears for sharing the article
