I agree, Will, about the importance of nuclear in meeting emissions goals for Germany and Europe. But I think you have to appreciate the hugely emotive (and thus irrational) attitude towards the technology in Germany. Anti-nuclear bumper stickers were commonplace in Germany even before Chernobyl, and not only on hippy VW vans. And Chernobyl really shook them up. People were panicking. We had acquaintances there who had 50cm of topsoil removed from their garden in case it was contaminated (no idea where they put it - someone else's problem, I guess).

Perhaps some of the historical resistance is because of the association between 'nuclear' and WW2. Even though it wasn't the Axis powers that used it, nuclear is seen as a technology of destruction and a reminder of the past that in so many ways the country has successfully addressed.

But when it comes to nuclear, you can't expect German society to approach the subject with as level-headed and practical a brain as other issues.