Ursula von der Leyen Calls Abandoning Nuclear Power “A Strategic Mistake” – 15 Years After Supporting the Nuclear Phase-Out

In 2011, when Angela Merkel decided that Germany had to phase out nuclear power because things like earthquakes and tsunamis happen in Japan, Ursula von der Leyen was Labour Minister and also vice-chair of the CDU. In an interview with the Süddeutsche Zeitung, von der Leyen defended Merkel’s decision, insisting that her government had “to respond to the new developments”: the Fukushima disaster, she said, had shown everyone “that the unthinkable has now become possible – a worst-case accident in a high-technology country”.

Germany has spent the years since 2011 systematically shutting down its own nuclear reactors and also lobbying other European nations to do the same. Thanks to this very dumb policy which von der Leyen openly supported, our power has got a lot more expensive and our industry a lot less competitive.

Today, von der Leyen is President of the European Commission, and she has decided that maybe the phase-out wasn’t such a great idea after all. Far from abandoning nuclear energy, she now wants the EU to be become a world-leading “pioneer in nuclear technology”:

While in 1990 one-third of Europe’s energy came from nuclear, today it’s only close to 15%. This reduction in the share of nuclear was a choice. And in hindsight, it was as strategic mistake for Europe to turn its back on a reliable, affordable source of low-emission power. This should change. … Nuclear energy is reliable, providing electricity all year around the clock. … Europe has been a pioneer in nuclear technology and could once against lead the world in it.

This of course doesn’t mean Germany will re-embrace nuclear power. That will never happen: the damage von der Leyen helped work is wrought. Chancellor Friedrich Merz has said that while he agrees with von der Leyen’s views, “This has no implications for Germany, because the German federal government has already decided to phase out nuclear energy” and “that decision is irreversible”.

This article originally appeared on Eugyppius’s Substack newsletter. You can subscribe here.

Subscribe
Notify of

To join in with the discussion please make a donation to The Daily Sceptic.

Profanity and abuse will be removed and may lead to a permanent ban.

28 Comments
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
sskinner
1 month ago

The appointment of von der Leyen and her ilk were the strategic mistake.

Tonka Rigger
1 month ago

Well, since when did an ill-conceived knee-jerk reaction ever work out badly?

transmissionofflame
1 month ago

“that the unthinkable has now become possible – a worst-case accident in a high-technology country”

Very wise – all those tsunamis that hit Germany, very dangerous.

Matt Dalby
Matt Dalby
1 month ago

Remind me, how many people were killed by the Fukushima industrial accident?
I think it was 1 or 2 members of the emergency services.

How many people have died as a result of Chernobyl?
About 34 members of the emergency services. Groups like Greenpeace kept saying they’d be a massive spike in cancer deaths throughout Europe 25-30 years after the accident. If this had of happened they’d still be banging on about it, silence can often be as informative as anything people say.

sskinner
1 month ago
Reply to  Matt Dalby

I think there were zero deaths at Fukushima from radiation.

huxleypiggles
1 month ago
Reply to  Matt Dalby

There has been a massive spike in cancer deaths but I’m not sure they are related to Chernobyl.

Strange…

sskinner
1 month ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

Coinciding with the Wuhan Flu therapies?
Japan gave it’s citizens 4 novel ‘vaccines’
Moderna,
Novavax,
Oxford/AstraZeneca,
Pfizer/BioNTech

Below is a screenshot from teh Johns Hopkins intitute showing Doses, Cases and Deaths for Japan.

030523-30-90N-Japan
Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago

They could – the climate crisis is very very very real.

🤣

Purpleone
1 month ago

Yes it’s such a risk with the vast amount of coastline they have isn’t it….
oh hang on?

transmissionofflame
1 month ago
Reply to  Purpleone

Climate change may cause a tsunami on the Rhine

Matt Dalby
Matt Dalby
1 month ago

She’s finally admitted she supported one of the worse mistakes the German government has made in the last 30 years.
Will she now resign in shame? No chance.

Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago

I much prefer Eugyppius’ original title for this article:

Europe’s foremost pantsuit retard Ursula von der Leyen calls abandoning nuclear power “a strategic mistake” – fifteen years after supporting the nuclear phase-out

transmissionofflame
1 month ago

Good spot – hilarious!

Heretic
Heretic
1 month ago

Yes, it’s a brilliant description of her: “Europe’s Foremost Pantsuit Retard”! 🤣

lulu-b45
lulu-b45
1 month ago

The woman is and was borderline retarded

huxleypiggles
1 month ago
Reply to  lulu-b45

Yet somehow always on the right side of the money…

Heretic
Heretic
1 month ago
Reply to  lulu-b45

Yes, and she looks like a Praying Mantis.

soundofreason
soundofreason
1 month ago

Decisions made by other people are not irreversible.

Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  soundofreason

Decisions can be instantly reversed.

Consequences, on the other hand…

I wonder if Europe’s Foremost Pantsuit Retard Ursula von der Leyen has ever made anything in her life.

Gezza England
Gezza England
1 month ago

I would not even trust her to provide dinner.

Heretic
Heretic
1 month ago

Remember what a Pig’s Ear she made of her previous job as Germany’s Defence Minister, when she failed to provide the German tanks with machine guns for a NATO exercise in Norway, so they had to put BROOMSTICKS on their tanks instead! And the Retard wants to be Commander of the EU Army!

Ursula von der Leyen’s army so under-equipped it used broomsticks instead of guns | World | News | Express.co.uk

“Bundeswehr troops tried to hide their lack of arms by replacing heavy machine guns with broomsticks during a NATO exercise.”

“After painting the wooden sticks black, the German soldiers attached them to the top of armoured vehicles, according to a confidential army report which was leaked to German broadcaster ARD.”

AbsolutelyNot
1 month ago

At least she admits that it was a mistake, and not dress it like it’s something no one else have thought about before or blame Putin and/or Trump for the change in direction.

Marcus Aurelius knew
1 month ago
Reply to  AbsolutelyNot

I see she has won you over.

RTSC
RTSC
1 month ago

So that’s three appalling strategic mistakes Merkel made, which profoundly weakened Germany and therefore the EU/Europe:

  1. Encourage mass immigration from the middle east and north Africa
  2. Abandon nuclear power in favour of windmills, leading to destruction of our energy security
  3. Intransigence leading to Brexit (good for us, bad for the EU)

And Fonda Lyin’ supported all of them.

varmint
1 month ago

What was a “strategic mistake” was the EU.

Gezza England
Gezza England
1 month ago
Reply to  varmint

Created after WW2 with a WW1 mindset to er…prevent WW2 and as such was rendered redundant by the creation of NATO and WarPact as the only two possible combatants in Europe.

mrbu
mrbu
1 month ago

I fail to understand how any political decision can be “irreversible”. It might be costly and embarrassing to perform a U-turn on nuclear energy, but the laws of physics don’t oppose it. The only real obstacle in the way is the egos of those who wanted to get rid of nuclear power in the first place and establish their non-nuclear “legacy”.

It’s like the obstinate husband who takes a wrong turn into a dead end road and refuses to turn around even though his wife keeps telling him he’s gone the wrong way. At some point he’s going to admit he’s wrong. Better to turn around sooner rather than later.

In2minds
In2minds
1 month ago

Ursula von der Leyen makes a mistake, amazing!