Nuclear power: German Greens put pragmatism first

Whether it's that indie band going mainstream, or the underdog team selling out to big sponsors — success often forces compromise and the letting go of long-held ideals. But when it's a political party, there's more at stake than fans complaining about their favorite band sounding too polished. As a party born out of protest, the price of pragmatism is something Germany's Greens have come to learn all too well.

When in government in the late 1990s then-Foreign Minister and Green Party icon Joschka Fischer forced his party to say goodbye to pacifism and agree to Germany's first military mission abroad since the end of World War Two: The NATO involvement in Kosovo. This was a watershed moment of Green's "Realpolitik.”

More recently, as the Green Party climbed in the polls ahead of the 2021 federal elections, the "Basis" — the grassroots of the party — began voicing concerns that entering government would again mean a compromise on party principles and ideology.

Indeed, almost a year after entering government, the war in Ukraine has prompted Green Party leaders to spearhead calls for weapons deliveries to a war region. It has also forced Green Party Economy Minister Robert Habeck to put human rights issues and climate concerns aside in search of replacements for Russian gas and oil.

And now, the party that has its roots in the anti-nuclear movement of the 1980s, has had to accept that the country's remaining three nuclear power stations will keep on operating beyond the end of the year.

Social Democrat Chancellor Olaf Scholz decreed this week that their lifeline be extended until April 15 — three and a half months after the legally required phase-out of nuclear energy in this country. The corresponding bill must still pass through parliament, but Green Party leaders have urged their lawmakers to support it.

The chancellor ended weeks of wrangling between his two coalition partners, which saw the Greens and their bid to keep only two southern German power plants on standby over the course of the winter pitted against the third coalition partner, the business-oriented Free Democrats (FDP), who wanted the nuclear phaseout to be rolled back till 2024.

"The fact that this decision was made by Chancellor Scholz, makes it easier for Green leaders to sell it to the party base," climate policy researcher Chantal Sullivan-Thomsett tells DW. "They can argue that the policy shift did not come because they failed to push their agenda hard enough or dropped a key component of the Green 'brand'."

Dissatisfaction in Northern Germany

What's being perceived by some Greens as a successful compromise, is seen as pragmatism going too far by others, not least of all the party rank and file in the Emsland, in the state of Lower Saxony, northwestern Germany.

Robert Habeck had wanted to take the Emsland nuclear plant offline by the end of this year as planned. And Lower Saxony's Social Democrats and Greens had argued that continued operation was unnecessary, as the region produces a sufficient amount of wind energy to make ends meet. Greens co-leader Ricarda Lang criticized Scholz's decision to keep Emsland online as being "not necessary for grid stability."

Party members are "absolutely livid," says Birgit Kemmer, head of the Greens' district chapter in Emsland. The closure of the plant had been a major Green Party campaign issue in the recent regional election there on October 9, prompting them to use the slogan: "Bye-bye, nuclear power plants."

"Many voters here now feel they've been duped," says Kemmer.

"We've already had some party members leave since Scholz's decision. Emsland nuclear power plant was supposed to close. Now, of course, we're concerned that the operation of the plants could be extended again. Who's to say that new fuel rods will be bought?" she asks.

Southern German approval

The Greens' office in the city of Landshut in Bavaria is just a 20-minute drive from another of Germany's three remaining nuclear power plants.

"Given the current situation with the war in Ukraine and the energy crisis, a few extra months isn't causing too much upset down here," Frank Steinberger, spokesperson of the Greens' Landshut district chapter tells DW. "We've lived alongside the nuclear plant for so long."

"I wouldn't say there's a division in the party, but it's certainly facing a dilemma," he says. But this, he says, is a far cry from the fierce battles between the compromise-happy "Realos" (realists) and the radical "Fundis" (fundamentalists) which were the trademark of the Green Party for decades.

"Of course, there is an element of dispute, that's part of the Greens' DNA," Greens MP in the Bundestag Chantal Kopf tells DW. "But ultimately it's a success for the entire coalition if we can find a solution."

In her constituency of Freiburg, a long-time Greens stronghold. The demonstrations there in the early 1970s against a planned nuclear power plant on the edge of the nearby Kaiserstuhl mountain range marked the beginning of Germany's anti-nuclear energy movement.

In Freiburg "the discussion about extending the life of nuclear energy has been going on for months,” says Kopf. "I was surprised by how many constituents broadly support the extension. Ultimately, it's about keeping the situation stable and also showing our European partners that we are willing to make compromises."

Ready to compromise means fit for government

The bill to extend the life of Germany's nuclear power plants, signed off by the Cabinet this week, will be put to the federal parliament, the Bundestag in early November, and the Green Party lawmakers are expected to vote in favor.

But they are already facing their next challenge to their principles: When it comes to arms exports, particularly to Saudi Arabia, despite human rights concerns.

So is compromising worth the toll it takes on a party's ideals?

Economy and Energy Minister Habeck thinks so. "It's worth being a part of the government," he told delegates at last week's annual Green Party conference. In recent months, the Greens have had to make difficult decisions at an "insane speed," Habeck said. And they have proven they "justifiably" bear the responsibility of being in government.

Edited by: Rina Goldenberg

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