Berlin Mayor Abandons Re-Election Bid After Power-Cut Controversy
The CDU named Stefan Evers as its lead candidate after polls showed the party slumping to fourth place and Wegner admitted poor communication.
- Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner announced on Friday he will not seek re-election, ending his candidacy weeks before the upcoming vote following months of backlash over his handling of a major winter blackout.
- Wegner faced intense criticism after a blackout left roughly 45,000 homes and 2,200 businesses without power, compounded by revelations he played tennis during the crisis to "clear my head."
- Admitting his "communication" regarding that day was "rubbish," Wegner defended the city's response despite reports he failed to make official calls until the afternoon.
- With the CDU slumping to fourth place in recent polls, Wegner said he is stepping aside to help his party regain ground and "prevent a left-wing alliance" led by Die Linke.
- Finance minister Stefan Evers is widely seen as the frontrunner to replace Wegner, as the party struggles to contain surging support for the AfD and other rivals before the September 20 vote.
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Kai Wegner pulled the tear line a few weeks before the Berlin election. In the podcast, Jan Fleischhauer explains why the blackout affair works.
In January, Wegner went to play tennis while a blackout left 45,000 homes without light. Now he admits that the controversial "overshadows" the campaign and announces that he is out of the election race in September.
Commentators consider it doubtful whether, after the latest revelations, Kai Wegner can even remain in his position until the elections in September.
Kai Wegner abandons CDU candidacy after admitting errors in emergency management, while Die Linke leads polls threatening to dislodge the grand coalition from power
Radio France Internationale
The Local - DeBerlin mayor abandons re-election bid after power-cut controversy
"I can no longer get my message out because another debate is overshadowing everything else," Wegner said Friday. "Yes, I made mistakes in communication," he added, referring to the power cut in January that left roughly 45,000 homes and around 2,200 businesses without power for nearly a week in the middle of a harsh winter. Wegner has faced criticism for remaining at home on January 3 rather than rushing to the office or the hardest-hit areas, …
"I give up being a leader," said 53-year-old Wegner at a press conference, who had been running the municipality since April 2023 in a coalition with the Social Democrats. "I can't get there anymore, I can't get messages out, because another debate is taking over everything else," acknowledged the leader of the Berlin-based Christian Democratic Union (CDU), who lost speed in the polls. On Friday evening, 46-year-old Finance Assistant Stefan Ever…
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