GERMANY-VOTE-MERKEL-NUCLEAR-MIGRANTS-DEBT-EU

Ralf Gueldner, German former chief lobbyist and spokesman of the nuclear industry, poses for photos during an interview with AFP in Herrsching, southern Germany, on August 25, 2021. - In her 16 years in power, Chancellor Angela Merkel took a leading role in deciding the course not only for Germany, but she also had an influence on the path taken by Europe. Less than a week after the Fukushima disaster, in one of the biggest moments of her political career, Angela Merkel would dramatically turn her back on nuclear energy and the industry to which Ralf Gueldner had dedicated his lifes work. Gueldner worked as an executive at German energy company E.Ons nuclear subsidiary and in 2010, the president of the German Nuclear Forum, in effect the sector's chief lobbyist and spokesman. (Photo by Christof STACHE / AFP) (Photo by CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP via Getty Images)