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Greens surge ahead in Germany due to anti-nuclear stand

Surveys have shown a majority of Germans are opposed to extending nuclear lifespans and Merkel faces a battle to get the planned measures through parliament. The SPD and Greens have said they will go to court to stop the extensions becoming law.

German Greens Hit Record, Pull Level With SPD: Poll Planet Ark: 23-Sep-10 GERMANY : Erik Kirschbaum Germany’s Green Party has drawn level for the first time with the main opposition Social Democrats, a leading poll showed, propelled by its campaign against government plans to extend the use of nuclear energy.

Support for the environmentalist party hit a record high of 24 percent, up to two percentage points from last week, in the Forsa survey published on Wednesday by Stern magazine.The Greens were junior coalition partners to the Social Democrats (SPD), traditionally Germany’s main center-left party, from 1998 to 2005 and wrote the law to shut down nuclear power plants by 2021.

On Saturday, tens of thousands of Germans marched in front Merkel’s office in one of the biggest anti-nuclear rallies in years. Protesters called on her to drop the unpopular plans to extend the use of nuclear power.

Surveys have shown a majority of Germans are opposed to extending nuclear lifespans and Merkel faces a battle to get the planned measures through parliament. The SPD and Greens have said they will go to court to stop the extensions becoming law.

The Greens, who won 10.7 percent in the 2009 federal election, have surged to one record after another in polls in recent months, thanks to their staunch opposition to nuclear power and voter frustration with Merkel.

World Environment News – German Greens Hit Record, Pull Level With SPD: Poll – Planet Ark

September 24, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Germany, politics | antinuclear, nuclear