The decision to phase out nuclear power generation, a move that drove energy prices higher, was deeply misguided, the chancellor has said
The German government made a “serious strategic mistake” by phasing out nuclear power, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has stated.
Germany shut down its last three nuclear reactors in April 2023, implementing a parliamentary plan decided after the 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Speaking at the New Year’s reception of the Halle-Dessau Chamber of Industry and Commerce on Thursday, Merz said he aimed to restore “acceptable market prices in energy production,” without constant government subsidies.
“It was a serious strategic mistake to phase out nuclear power,” Merz said, criticizing his predecessors. In his words, Germany is undergoing the “most expensive energy transition in the world.”
“We inherited something that we now need to correct, but we simply don’t have enough energy generation capacity,” Merz added.
In October 2025, two cooling towers at the Gundremmingen nuclear power plant were demolished in a controlled explosion. The facility, which once supplied a quarter of Bavaria’s electricity, was taken offline in late 2021.
Gundremmingen, heute um 12 Uhr: Die Sprengung der Kühltürme des Kernkraftwerks markiert einen weiteren Meilenstein der Verlogenheit und vorsätzlichen Zerstörung unserer Energieversorgung durch CSU und CDU. pic.twitter.com/iAzhYcApVL
The opposition right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party condemned the destruction of the plant saying it demonstrated “that the energy policy of recent years has completely failed.”
“Under the guise of the so-called energy transition, the safe, robust, and, moreover, CO2-free generation of electricity by nuclear power in Germany is now being destroyed. This must stop,” it said in a statement.
Merz has also faced criticism for backtracking on his coalition government’s promise to lower electricity taxes for households and businesses. Last summer, he indicated that the tax burden relief could only be granted to a select few sectors, namely manufacturing industries and agriculture, since his government was hard-pressed for cash. Merz’s apparent change of tack drew ire from several business associations and social welfare groups, ARD reported.
“The federal government must be held accountable for what it has promised,” Verena Bentele, who represents one such group, told the media outlet at the time. Franziska Brantner, the co-leader of the Green Party, similarly accused the chancellor of failing to honor his promises.
Following the escalation of the Ukraine conflict in February 2022, Germany rejected inexpensive Russian oil and gas in favor of costlier alternatives. This resulted in energy prices soaring for both industry and households.
The German economy has steadily contracted since then.
Late last year, Merz acknowledged that the country had lost its economic competitiveness. “We are falling behind, and this process has accelerated in recent years,” he said.
