Germany’s Energiewende blowin’ in the wind

The direction of the country's energy transition policy remains unclear following the general election

Germany's federal elections on 24 September saw no changes at the top as Angela Merkel retained the Chancellorship. But the nature of the country's future energy policy will be shaped by the horse trading currently taking place to decide which parties will be in the ruling coalition. To govern, Merkel's centre-right Christian Democratic Union needs to form a coalition with one or two of a handful of smaller parties. That involves trying to get politicians with diverse views on board—probably the leaders of the Greens and the Free Democratic Party. Those talks have barely started, with the CDU still struggling to agree the common policy platform with its sister party in Bavaria, the Christian