Angela Merkel didn't decide to shift to wind and solar. The Atomaustieg (the decision to abandon nuclear power) was made in 2000 by a coalition of the social de

Angela Merkel didn't decide to shift to wind and solar. The Atomaustieg (the decision to abandon nuclear power) was made in 2000 by a coalition of the social democrats and the greens. The movement that lead to this decision goes back to the 70s, the green party actually stems from that. Merkel slowed down that process at a time where it stopped being that much of an issue and the process was put back on the initial schedule after Fukushima happened. Merkel is merely going with popular opinion on this.