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A major part of Germany’s SPD socialist party, Germany’s second largest party behind Angela Merkel’s CDU conservative party, is coming to its economic and social senses on the issues of climate change and renewable energy. The threat of social unrest and lack of warming are gradually changing minds.

SPD boss Hannelore Kraft says industrial jobs are more important. Photo: SPD Landtagsfraktion NRW, public domain.

Hannelore Kraft, Minister President of Germany’s most populous state North Rhine Westphalia, the heartland of Germany’s heavy industry, has seriously upset the formidable green wing of her SPD party and companion Greens in claiming that preserving heavy industry jobs in her state is more important than the rapid transition over to renewable energies.

The Ruhr region of North Rhine Westphalia employs tens of thousands of jobs in the traditional sectors of coal, steel, and energy. But the continued massive subsidization of renewable energies is a real threat to these jobs and to trade union members who are a major traditional voting block the SPD. The situation reminds us of Senator Joe Manchin in West Virginia.

Germany’s center-left online Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that “North Rhine Westphalia Minister President wants to fight to preserve jobs in steel and power companies. That’s more important than the rapid transition to renewable energies, the SPD politician said in an SZ interview. …’It’s important that we preserve the industrial jobs in our state.'”

Kraft’s words send a clearsignal that a new grand coalition government between Angela Merkel’s CDU/CSU conservative parts and the SPD party are poised to abandon any plans for continuing the rapid transition to renewable energies like we’ve seen over the last years. This would be a massive blow to the climate alarmism movement and to renewable energies. Moreover with Germany’s two major parties being in agreement on the issue, there would be very little political opposition to stop the major scale back.

Recently German energy behemoth RWE announced that it is considering closing its massive Garzweiler II open-cast lignite mine earlier than planned. The Süddeutsche writes this would cost 10,000 jobs. The Süddeutsche also adds, “Thyssen-Krupp director Heinrich Hiesinger has made its steel production staying at it traditional location in Duisburg dependent on that the energy intensive steel sector being exempt through the hardship clause from having to pay the energy feed-in tariffs.”

Clearly renewable energies have reached a point in Germany where energy intensive companies are presenting politicians with real a ultimatum: Either you lighten up on the renewable energy craze, or we’re gone! The mass social unrest that would potentially be caused by a mass industrial exodus is something no responsible politician in power wants to risk having to deal with.

The Green party and the green wing of the socialist party have reacted angrily to Hannelore Kraft’s compromise with heavy industry, assuring plenty of internal conflict ahead.

Hat-tip: Benny Peiser here.