I don’t know if I would call it “suicide.” It’s sort of like suicide by smoking cigarettes. It’s a very long time before it will reach fruition, and in the meantime, they can change their minds. Right now, though, they are headed in a direction that will ultimately cause them economic pain, if not death.
. . .
Brillant: I don’t know if I would call it “suicide.” It’s sort of like suicide by smoking cigarettes. It’s a very long time before it will reach fruition, and in the meantime, they can change their minds. Right now, though, they are headed in a direction that will ultimately cause them economic pain, if not death.
I've already posted my thoughts on the author's take (first quote). But I do want to emphasize again that to understand this decision, one has to be familiar with exactly how much Germans are willing to sacrifice to be freer of the fear they have of nuclear energy/weapons.
And on that point, you've hit the nail on the head, really. They are going to take their time to figure this out and they are willing to pay the price for that. That is all.
I find nothing about this that fits the charge of political pandering, much less political pandering that is even in the same league with the dangerous bumbler in the White House.