Berlinās energy senator says fear of right-wing parties must not slow down coal exit
Fears of a surge in support for the right-wing populist party AfD must not influence the speed of Germanyās coal exit, Berlinās Green energy senator Ramona Pop says in a reply to Brandenburgās state premier Dietmar Woidke, published in the Tagesspiegel. SPD politician Woidke had said a quick end to coal-fired power production could result in rising support for the AfD especially in the eastern German coal region of Lusatia, which partly lies in Brandenburg, but Pop says this argument is āfactually wrong and also dishonest.ā She argues that structural economic problems in coal regions have been building up for years and postponing the end of coal would only worsen the situation. āPointing at the rise of right-wing populists is just an attempt to discredit necessary modernisation policies,ā Pop says, adding that Brandenburgās government merely tried to divert attention from the fact that it has done little to manage the economic transition in the region. āThe right-wing populistsā alleged recipe for success is to not even try to find answers to difficult questions,ā but rather to shift every objective debate to an emotional level. āA state premier must not play along with this strategy,ā she says.
Read the opinion piece in German .
See the Ā鶹ĪŽĀė°ę factsheet Germanyās three lignite mining regions for background.