Since the bartender Wilhelm Meschede banned Green politicians from his Facebook account four days ago because of the environmental party’s nuclear policy, his phone hasn’t stopped ringing. “I’m literally inundated with thanks. 95 percent of the reactions are positive,” said the 65-year-old on Monday to FOCUS online on request.
Meschede, who has been running a restaurant and hotel in the small town of Olsberg in the Hochsauerland district for 20 years, informed his around 1,700 followers about the ban in a Facebook post on Friday. “In the course of the shutdown of our nuclear power plants, all Federal Greens and those who advocate shutdown have immediate property and local bans in the top dog! We don’t see these birds of paradise and stumbling blocks warming their asses at our expense.”
“I’m scared and afraid”: host worried about blackouts
Meschede admits that he was totally surprised by the response to this post. “The phone isn’t ringing anymore. The support comes from all ages and from all walks of life, regardless of whether it is wealthy entrepreneurs or older ladies who have no money.”
The trigger for the ban were the drastic price increases for electricity and gas, according to the Hochsauerland landlord. However, Meschede is primarily concerned about supply bottlenecks. He says the shutdown of the last three remaining nuclear power plants last weekend could jeopardize the country’s energy security. “What happens in a blackout? Who supplies and then with electricity?” The power grid is becoming increasingly unstable due to the successive shutdown of coal and nuclear power plants, power lines that are supposed to transport the energy from the wind turbines from north to south are not yet finished. Meschede: “I’m scared and anxious.”
“Merkel has also screwed up a few things!”
In the comments on Facebook, Meschede also responded with approval, but there was no lack of clear counter-opinions either. “Uh… Very briefly: it is already clear to everyone here which parties decided to phase out nuclear energy or the complete end for the German nuclear power plants after Fukuishima, right?” Reminds a user that it was the Union of the then Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) who decided to withdraw after the reactor accident in Japan in 2011.
When asked how he felt about the decision made by the then Merkel government, Meschede, who claims to be a member of the CDU himself, says: “Merkel also messed up a lot!” In his opinion, the nuclear phase-out was a mistake overall. Union chairman Friedrich Merz, who comes from Meschede’s neighboring district, described the final phase-out of nuclear power as a “black day for Germany” at the weekend. No other country reacted to the Ukraine war and the resulting “tightened energy supply situation” like the Federal Republic, the CDU leader criticized the traffic light government of Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD).
Sauerland-Wirt: “Greens are not among my regular customers”
He has not yet had a reaction from the Greens to his local ban, says the landlord of the “Platzhirsch” restaurant. And it is also clear to him that top greens like Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck would rather go to a restaurant in Berlin anyway. But it is also not a problem for him that Greens from the 15,000-inhabitant town can now avoid his restaurant. “I have nothing personally against the Greens and get along well with them. But politicians from this party and their supporters are not among my regular audience anyway. Motorcyclists tend to come to me.”
