BERLIN, Aug 22 (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Sunday stood by her plan to levy a tax on nuclear power providers, pitting her coalition against industry in a turbulent return to government business after the summer lull.
Merkel hopes the tax will raise 2.3 billion euros a year as part of a 80 billion euro budget consolidation drive that she is determined to press ahead with, keen to set an example of fiscal discipline for other euro zone countries to follow.
"We have proposed a tax," Merkel told ZDF television in her first major interview since returning from her summer break.
"So long as there is no other proposal on the table, the tax remains."
Merkel defended the tax plan after industry bosses and members of her own Christian Democrats (CDU) ramped up pressure on her on Friday to drop the plan.
Although the nuclear tax is part of the budget consolidation drive, Merkel’s centre-right government is also preparing to unveil its long-term energy plans at the end of September.
Surveys have long shown that most Germans oppose nuclear energy, making it a sensitive area for Merkel’s government, which has pledged to extend the lifespan of nuclear power stations, even though it has yet to agree on how much.
Merkel, a former environment minister under Helmut Kohl, told ZDF her government was in talks with the energy companies about other potential proposals "but I don’t yet see any".
The nuclear tax is one of a number controversial issues facing Merkel after the summer recess, with budget cuts and a reform of the military stacking up as other contentious topics.
The 56-year-old chancellor has failed to capitalise politically on Germany’s strong economic recovery in the second quarter — her government’s approval ratings have sunk sharply since she was re-elected last September.
Her coalition of conservatives and liberals has had to drop campaign promises of tax cuts and feuded over issues including nuclear power and welfare reform steps, putting off voters.
A poll published last week showed Merkel’s Christian Democrats had been overtaken by the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD) for the first time since her re-election.
