Polls & Research

Germans Support Ending Nuclear Energy Era

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Fewer people in Germany agree with the official policy that would phase out the use of nuclear energy in the European country by 2021, according to a poll by Infratest-Dimap. 51 per cent of respondents agree with this view, down seven points since last December.

In November 2005, Christian-Democratic Union (CDU) leader Angela Merkel was sworn in as Germany’s first female head of government. The current administration includes members of the CDU, the Bavarian Christian-Social Party (CSU), and the Social Democratic Party (SPD).

After the 1998 federal election, the coalition government formed by the SPD and the Greens agreed to gradually phase-out nuclear energy in Germany. Gerhard Schroeder was federal chancellor at the time. In 2001, an agreement established a limit of 32 years to the operational lives of Germany’s atomic reactors, but deferred any immediate closures.

Last month, Merkel said the decision to phase-out nuclear energy was "absolutely wrong," and expressed her support for re-developing the nuclear industry in order to stem pollution. However, the current coalition government has decided to maintain Schroeder’s policy for now.

On Jul. 7, Merkel ratified her views, adding, "The decision that many countries count on nuclear power is OK. But to say that the future for climate change and careful use of energy can be solved by that alone—I don’t see it that way."

Polling Data

Do you think Germany should go ahead with the decision to gradually phase-out nuclear energy?

	Jul. 2008	Dec. 2007
Yes	51%	58%
No	44%	36%

Source: Infratest-Dimap
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 German voters, conducted on Jun. 30 and Jul. 1, 2007. Margin of error is 3.1 per cent.