German chancellor Olaf Scholz has imposed a compromise on the warring partners in his governing coalition by decreeing that all three of the country’s remaining nuclear power plants will continue operating till mid-April 2023, as Berlin battles to avert an energy crunch this winter.
The move shows Scholz, a Social Democrat, in effect banging heads together to end a conflict between his partners in government — the Greens and the liberal Free Democrats (FDP) — that threatened to fatally undermine coalition unity.
The row went to the heart of Germany’s energy crisis, caused by Russia’s decision to suspend gas supplies to Europe in retaliation for the EU’s support for Ukraine — which has raised fears of blackouts and energy rationing in Europe’s largest economy.