Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) Party may have won last weekend’s national election but they certainly haven’t won the argument on Germany’s nuclear phaseout.

Following on from 50,000 people gathering in Berlin last month to protest against nuclear power in Germany, and in just two days, nearly 43,000 people (at the time of writing) have signed an open letter to Chancellor Merkel along with her coalition partners, Horst Seehofer - chairman of the Christian Social Union (CSU) - and Guido Westerwelle - leader of the Free Democratic Party (FDP) demanding that they not reverse Germany’s nuclear power phaseout.

‘CDU, CSU and FDP have won the election not because of, but despite, their position on nuclear power,’ says the letter and it urges eight nuclear reactors be closed immediately, an end to the disinformation surrounding the disastrous Gorleben nuclear waste storage facility, and the strengthening of the development of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. The campaign has promised ‘massive protests’ should Germany’s new government decide to reverse the decision made in 2000 to rid the country of its nuclear reactors by 2020.

German citizens can sign the letter here.