Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder (CSU) does not want to come to terms with the final end of nuclear power production in Germany: he called on the federal government in the “Bild am Sonntag” to be allowed to continue operating the shut down Isar 2 reactor under state responsibility. While various politicians in the Union supported Söder, representatives of the responsible traffic light coalition see the end of nuclear power in Germany finally sealed.
Söder told the newspaper that Bavaria is demanding “a separate state responsibility for the continued operation of nuclear power” from the federal government. As long as the crisis does not end and the transition to renewable energies does not succeed, “we must use every form of energy by the end of the decade”.
The Union faction in the Bundestag supported Söder’s demand. Her parliamentary manager Thorsten Frei (CDU) told the Rheinische Post, which appears in Düsseldorf, 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.”
The last three remaining nuclear power plants in Germany – the Isar 2 plants in Bavaria, Neckarwestheim in Baden-Württemberg and Emsland in Lower Saxony – went offline on Saturday evening.
Federal Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Greens) accused Söder (CSU) of disregarding the legal situation because of his demands. “It is downright depressing how a prime minister so carelessly ignores licensing and constitutional issues and aspects of nuclear safety,” Lemke told the Süddeutsche Zeitung (Monday edition). “According to the Basic Law, responsibility for nuclear power lies with the federal government. That’s why the states can only monitor nuclear power plants on behalf of the federal government.”
The authorization to operate the Bavarian Meiler Isar 2 expired on April 16, Lemke told the “Süddeutsche Zeitung”. If it is to be connected to the grid again, this would require “a quasi new approval for the reactor”. Söder is trying to give the impression that it can delay the dismantling of the nuclear power plants “against the interests of radiation protection,” said the environment minister. That is incompatible with the law. “On the contrary, it is now important to put safety at the forefront through rapid dismantling.”
The parliamentary director of the SPD parliamentary group, Katja Mast, recalled that Söder had threatened to resign after the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, if the coalition stuck to nuclear power. “Now he’s demanding the opposite. With such a zigzag course you lose credibility,” she criticized in the “Rheinische Post”.
The Greens politician and former Federal Environment Minister Jürgen Trittin also rejected Söder’s claim in the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”. “Söder throws himself behind a crazy train with a big gesture.” Söder follows the motto of demanding something because rejection is assured.
Criticism also comes from the Federal Office for the Safety of Nuclear Waste Management (BASE): “Today’s demands by the Bavarian Prime Minister underline how important it is that the political responsibility for nuclear safety in Germany lies with the federal government,” said President Wolfram König on Sunday the German Press Agency. “The Bundestag and all federal states, including Bavaria, have not only agreed to phase out nuclear energy, but have also initiated the search for a repository based on scientific criteria.” Bavaria’s required special route contradicts applicable law and endangers the search for a repository.
In the nationwide search for a repository for the nuclear waste that has accumulated so far, Bavaria is already on the brakes as soon as the territory of the Free State is involved. Lemke also distanced himself from this attitude of the Bavarian state government. “Mr. Söder’s irresponsibility is also reflected in the fact that he opposes the open-ended search for a site for the deep disposal of highly radioactive waste,” she said.
