Germany's Economy Minister Reiche Urges Nuclear Rethink Amid Energy Crisis and Growth Downgrades

Germany's Economy Minister Katherina Reiche has issued a stark warning, calling for a fundamental reassessment of the country's nuclear phase-out as surging energy prices and sliding growth forecasts expose deep vulnerabilities. Speaking at an international investor conference, Reiche framed the political decision to eliminate nuclear power as a critical strategic error, leaving Europe's largest economy with no reliable alternative for baseload electricity and dangerously dependent on volatile gas supplies.

Reiche, a senior figure in Chancellor Friedrich Merz's Christian Democratic Union, told the Financial Times that the policy has eliminated any realistic backup. "We need gas to secure our supply - that is the only baseload supply I have left," she stated, adding, "Politically speaking, I have no alternative." Her remarks come as fresh data highlights the mounting economic costs of the nuclear exit, a policy originally enacted under former Chancellor Angela Merkel's government.

The public plea from a senior minister signals intense internal pressure and a potential political shift, placing the nation's long-term energy security and industrial competitiveness at the center of a heated debate. With Germany's economic growth forecasts being revised downward, the call for a nuclear rethink underscores a direct link between energy policy and macroeconomic stability, raising the stakes for the governing coalition as it navigates repeated energy shocks.