Recently in German politics, there have been calls to restart nuclear power plants. Public opinion leans in favor of restarting reactors, but debate continues within the political sphere.
According to German outlet Der Spiegel and others, Jens Spahn, floor leader of the centrist conservative ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU)–Christian Social Union (CSU) alliance, said on the 15th (local time) after concluding an internal innovation meeting that "there are study findings that say restarting the reactors halted in recent years would be possible with €9 billion to €10 billion (about 15.7 trillion won to 17.4 trillion won)."
He argued that the expense of restarting would be lower than the expense of building new reactors. Floor leader Jens Spahn said the restart expense would be far less than €30 billion to €50 billion (52.2 trillion won to 87 trillion won), adding, "In any case, I think a social debate is necessary."
However, this argument differs from the federal government's official position. Chancellor Friedrich Merz said last month that although the previous government's nuclear phaseout declaration was a mistake, "that decision cannot be reversed" because of issues such as expense. Merz also blamed Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Germany declared a nuclear phaseout in 2011 following Japan's Fukushima nuclear disaster. In Apr. 2023, it shut down the last three reactors, completing the phaseout. But with the energy crisis recurring due to the Ukraine war that broke out in 2022 and the recent Middle East war, criticism of the phaseout policy has continued.
Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Union (EU) Commission, who served more than 10 years as a Minister in the Merkel government at the time, said at a private nuclear summit last month that "it was a strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable, low‑carbon source of electricity."
In German politics, the debate over restarting reactors has persisted. Markus Söder, leader of the CSU, was recently reported to have said that Bavaria, where he serves as state premier, is ready to pilot small modular reactors (SMRs). The far‑right Alternative for Germany (AfD) has reportedly submitted motions to the federal parliament several times to restart reactors.
By contrast, the Social Democratic Party (SPD), the CDU–CSU alliance's coalition partner, opposes restarting reactors. Dirk Wiese, the SPD's parliamentary secretary general, said, "It's pointless to repeat the same debate. Nuclear power is the most expensive and most dangerous energy," adding that the focus should be on expanding renewable energy.
Even so, public sentiment is relatively in favor of restarting reactors. In a poll by survey firm Civey last month, 59% of respondents said Chairperson von der Leyen's comment about a "strategic mistake" was right. Sixty percent supported introducing new nuclear technologies such as SMRs.