We will fight against any pro-nuclear power plan. And we will remind people that a change in the German nuclear consensus would stifle the development of sustainable energy and it would cost jobs. The SPD is the strongest among the opposition parties and we must take on this role with vigour.

Personal life
Gabriel was married to Munise Demirel with whom he has a daughter but the couple divorced. On 15 December 1999 after the resignation of Gerhard Glogowski who had succeeded Gerhard Schröder in office Gabriel became Minister-President of Lower Saxony and served until 4 March 2003. From 2005 to 2009 he was the Federal Minister for the Environment Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety in the first cabinet of Angela Merkel (CDU).