Chancellor Angela Merkel wants to postpone any decision on extending the lifespans of Germany's 17 nuclear energy reactors until after a key state election in May 2010, Reuters quoted government and industry sources as saying. "The chancellor's view is that there should only be a very general formulation in the coalition agreement," one source involved in coalition talks told Reuters. Merkel's preferred centre-right alliance won last month's federal election. A previous centre-left government of Social Democrats and Greens began a 20-year phase-out of nuclear power in Germany in 2000. But Merkel's conservatives and the Free Democrats (FDP), who are in talks to form a new government, have both voiced support for extending the lifespans of plants judged safe. Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) are keen to hold onto power in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany's most populous state. Opinion polls show a clear majority of Germans opposed to extending nuclear power. "Merkel does not want any decision before the election in North Rhine-Westphalia," the government source said. Another political source said that Merkel has already agreed to that timetable with the leader of the FDP, Guido Westerwelle.
