Germany megathread

[Estrella]

Liar, liar, eco-friendly coal on fire.

https://twitter.com/weplanetint/status/1783722796834869569

The bombshell investigation from Cicero: Habeck's secret files: How the Greens cheated on the nuclear phase-out. The nuclear power files of the Ministry of Economic Affairs released by Cicero show how Green Party puppetmasters manipulated the decision to extend the operating life of German nuclear power plants in 2022.

Here is an English summary.

Die Grünen have a long tradition of engaging in the sort of demonization of science you'd expect from American conservatives: in the 2000s they wanted to ban research on nuclear fusion and were one of the driving forces behind making health insurance companies fund homeopathic snake oil salesmen. It's not surprising then that government's scientific experts were shut out of the consultations about shutdown of the nuclear power plants and decisions were made by an inner circle of loyal ideologues. Habeck's people then colluded to cover up a report saying that the reactors could run safely for years. They released and entirely rewritten report with factual inaccuracies and outright misinformation, with the conclusion that lifespan extension is "not supported from a safety standpoint", which they literally just made up. They then blocked freedom of information requests to get the original, to the point that Cicero only got the documents after suing the ministry.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Liar, liar, eco-friendly coal on fire.

https://twitter.com/weplanetint/status/1783722796834869569

The bombshell investigation from Cicero: Habeck's secret files: How the Greens cheated on the nuclear phase-out. The nuclear power files of the Ministry of Economic Affairs released by Cicero show how Green Party puppetmasters manipulated the decision to extend the operating life of German nuclear power plants in 2022.

Here is an English summary.

That tweet sounds a bit misleading and contradicts the actual facts.

The actual allegation is that undersecretaries of state in Habeck's ministry withheld information regarding the nuclear phase-out, so that it didn't reach the minister.

Here the tweet is about a supposed "collusion" between Habeck and his undersecretaries of state. How can there be a collusion between them when the allegation is that one side didn't forward information to the other?

[Middle-aged Europe]

Anyway, speaking of collusions, SPIEGEL now reports about strategy paper for the AfD from 2022 that had been jointly developed by the AfD and the Kremlin (in German, behind a paywall, but information will be freely available somewhere soon, I guess):

https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-spionageaffaere-russland-und-china-im-fokus-neue-enthuellungen-belasten-die-partei-a-46042b96-2d61-4bb4-ac25-ead57d7d6285

[President Johnson]

Anyway, speaking of collusions, SPIEGEL now reports about strategy paper for the AfD from 2022 that had been jointly developed by the AfD and the Kremlin (in German, behind a paywall, but information will be freely available somewhere soon, I guess):

https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-spionageaffaere-russland-und-china-im-fokus-neue-enthuellungen-belasten-die-partei-a-46042b96-2d61-4bb4-ac25-ead57d7d6285

AfD is strongly competing with BSW on who is the bigger Kremlin shill. What a disgrace these Russia First parties are.

[Middle-aged Europe]

AfD is strongly competing with BSW on who is the bigger Kremlin shill. What a disgrace these Russia First parties are.

I think AfD has already won that contest, unless BSW is very good in covering up their money payments from and espionage for the Kremlin.

[Storr]

A 57 year old Russian citizen stabbed to death two Ukrainian men (aged 23 and 36) Saturday afternoon near the Tengelmann Center in Murnau, Bavaria. He is in police custody. There's a lot of internet speculation about the motive for the crime, but none of that has been confirmed at this time so I will not comment on it.

https://www.polizei.bayern.de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/066284/index.html

[Middle-aged Europe]

The post-Ukraine foreign policy realignment exemplified by European election campaign posters:

AfD - "Protect the peace."

Greens - "A strong Europe means a safe Germany."

[Storr]

A 57 year old Russian citizen stabbed to death two Ukrainian men (aged 23 and 36) Saturday afternoon near the Tengelmann Center in Murnau, Bavaria. He is in police custody. There's a lot of internet speculation about the motive for the crime, but none of that has been confirmed at this time so I will not comment on it.

https://www.polizei.bayern.de/aktuelles/pressemitteilungen/066284/index.html

"Killing of two Ukrainian soldiers may be political, German prosecutors say http://reut.rs/4dlSWrh"

https://twitter.com/Reuters/status/1784959635759198376

[Estrella]

Reuters: G7 offers leeway to Germany, Japan in deal to quit coal by 2035

Bloomberg: Germany Set to Pay More Coal Plants to Prevent Blackouts

Really makes you wonder if other European countries should even bother reducing emissions. Romania, a much poorer country than Germany, is going ahead with phasing out coal in eight years. Hungary will phase out coal in three years. Slovakia just shut down all of its coal mines and coal-fired power plants and it got nothing. Poland is trying to replace coal with green energy and all it got in return was a storm of protests from German state governments. Germany replaced clean nuclear power with the dirtiest coal in Europe and it got a specially carved out exemption that says they can pollute for as long and as much as they want. In return, the German government vetoed a G7 proposal to endorse nuclear energy as a tool to fight climate change. What's the point?

[CumbrianLefty]

Ngl, the German love affair with lignite does seem pretty bizarre to many of us outside the country.

[Storr]

Red Army Faction moment?

"Activists (“left-wing extremists”) claim responsibility for burning down the summer home of German arms manufacturer Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger. Their issues with him center on Rheinmetall’s refurbishment of German Leopard tanks for Ukraine. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/05/01/german-left-wing-arsonists-attack-home-of-rheinmetall-chief/"

[Yeahsayyeah]

Estrella and his crusade for electricity from nuclear power looks a bit strange from inside Germany as almost 60 per cent of German electricity in 2023 came out of renewables. Coal was at 26 per cent (and a third lower than 2022).

The total amount of electricity coming out of coal in 2023 was the lowest since the 50s/60s (depending on the type of coal)

https://www.focus.de/earth/analyse/deutschlands-verblueffende-strombilanz-fuer-2023_id_259541738.html

This doesn't really look like the "Germany is getting more dependent on coal" trope some are pushing here. It really is more of a phantom discussion...like the one about nuclear power.

[Middle-aged Europe]

Estrella and his crusade for electricity from nuclear power looks a bit strange from inside Germany as almost 60 per cent of German electricity in 2023 came out of renewables. Coal was at 26 per cent (and a third lower than 2022).

The total amount of electricity coming out of coal in 2023 was the lowest since the 50s/60s (depending on the type of coal)

https://www.focus.de/earth/analyse/deutschlands-verblueffende-strombilanz-fuer-2023_id_259541738.html

This doesn't really look like the "Germany is getting more dependent on coal" trope some are pushing here. It really is more of a phantom discussion...like the one about nuclear power.

It's a complex issue.

An increased dependency on coal did happen, at least temporarily, last year. The argument in favour is that coal is more "flexible" than nuclear power, because it can quickly be hooked up and removed from the electricity grids at will and is therefore better suited to serve as a temporary supplement for renewables. Nuclear power in the other hand is seen as blocking the expansion of renewables since it works the opposite way.

It boils down to the question what your long-term strategy is. Do you aim for 100% renewables or do you plan on NPPs as the basis for your energy sector with a supplement of renewables.

Since last year, Germany also became somewhat more dependent on energy imports from abroad. Contrary to popular belief, the majority of those energy imports come from renewables too.

For this calender week (starting April 29) the breakdown of energy production in Germany is as follows:

74% renewables
21.5% fossils (12% coal, 8% gas, 2% others)
5% foreign imports

[Yeahsayyeah]

I know, that it's a complex issue. I was pushing back against the oversimplistic "German energy sector is doomed and fully dependent on coal for all time" narrative, some are pushing here and everywhere.

And if one goes by flexibility and relative "cleanness", natural gas would be the best of the fossil fuels - and these are two reasons (besides the abundance and relative cheapness of russian gas and the possibility of power-heat coupling) why it was favoured as a "transition technology".

And while I was basically ok with the half year of nuclear extension in 2022/23 because of the percieved insecurity (and let's face it, this was more about perception and absolute worst case scenarios then real needs, in the end) Germany does not need these plants in the long run, the basic course of the nuclear phase out was set in 1999 and despite all the political theatre by the right they only prolonged the phase-out and never reversed it, because it wasn't politically and economically feasible.

[President Johnson]

Ngl, the German love affair with lignite does seem pretty bizarre to many of us outside the country.

Germany should have shut down coal power plants before nuclear, so it was done in the wrong order. However, both are necessary in the long run.

[Middle-aged Europe]

European election candidate Matthias Ecke (SPD) was attacked and severely injured while campaigning in Dresden. He's now in surgery.

This is the latest, and probably most severe, in a series of similar incidents in recent weeks, apparently concentrated on the eastern states and on left-wing politicians from Greens, the Left, and SPD, with AfD supporters as suspected perps.

[President Johnson]

European election candidate Matthias Ecke (SPD) was attacked and severely injured while campaigning in Dresden. He's now in surgery.

This is the latest, and probably most severe, in a series of similar incidents in recent weeks, apparently concentrated on the eastern states and on left-wing politicians from Greens, the Left, and SPD, with AfD supporters as suspected perps.

Deeply concerning, though apparently a sign of time. It seems like we have entered an era in several Western countries in which political differences can't be discussed based on issues anymore and in a civil manner. Anyone not agreeing with me is an enemy of the state/people now. Unfortunately that's one of the negative sideeffects of social media.

[Middle-aged Europe]

European election candidate Matthias Ecke (SPD) was attacked and severely injured while campaigning in Dresden. He's now in surgery.

This is the latest, and probably most severe, in a series of similar incidents in recent weeks, apparently concentrated on the eastern states and on left-wing politicians from Greens, the Left, and SPD, with AfD supporters as suspected perps.

Deeply concerning, though apparently a sign of time. It seems like we have entered an era in several Western countries in which political differences can't be discussed based on issues anymore and in a civil manner. Anyone not agreeing with me is an enemy of the state/people now. Unfortunately that's one of the negative sideeffects of social media.

You could add that China/Russia are using social media to undermine and destabilize Western democracies.

America is thinking about banning TikTok, Germany is attempting a different approach so far, with the Chancellor and other parties like the Greens recently launching their own accounts there after shunning the platform for years.. but some say it is already too late for that.



I also had a bit of a flashback to the recently seen movie Civil War today and it occurred to me that it is something that is also increasingly applicable to the political situation in Germany.

Others pointed out that the last time SPD politicians were beaten up by gangs of far-right thugs was around 1932... back then it used to be called the Sturmabteilung (SA).

[Middle-aged Europe]

Federal minister of the interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) has called a conference of the states' interior ministers next week, to tighten security in response to the recent series of right-wing violence.