The 53-year-old justified the move on Friday by saying that due to the debate about his role during the blackout, he could no longer get his message across to the public. Wegner said he would inform the district chairpersons of the Berlin CDU of his decision that evening.
Wegner has been governing mayor of a black-red coalition since April 2023. He came under fire after the arson attack on the power supply on January 3, which left around 100,000 people without electricity for days. Initially, he concealed that he had played tennis at noon on the first day of the crisis. Later, further inconsistencies in his daily schedule came to light.
The opposition accused Wegner of lying, and even the coalition partner SPD distanced itself. In recent polls, the CDU fell to fourth place behind the Left Party, the AfD, and the Greens, reaching only 17 percent. Wegner had been elected as the top candidate in June with nearly 93 percent of the vote.
Source: www.zdfheute.de
