Uncertainty is growing over the political future of Kai Wegner, the Governing Mayor of Berlin. On Monday evening (6:30 PM), the CDU state executive board and the chairs of the twelve district associations will meet to discuss Wegner’s candidacy, the election campaign, the mood within the party, and the party’s chances in the state parliament election on September 20. Pressure on Wegner is mounting following an open letter from CDU members demanding his resignation as a service to the office and the party.
The three-page letter, which according to its authors was drafted among others by prominent investor and entrepreneur Christian Miele, describes Wegner’s conduct as a problem for trust in democracy. The text states: “Every additional day in office confirms those who claim that ‘those at the top’ don’t tell the truth anyway. As Christian Democrats, we cannot allow that.” An election campaign with Wegner would be lost, the letter says.
Wegner faces sharp criticism primarily over false statements about his communication on the first day of the major power outage following the suspected left-wing extremist arson attack in southwestern Berlin in early January. That morning, he skipped a scheduled speech in the Bundesrat. Instead of Wegner, his deputy, Finance Senator Stefan Evers (CDU), attended the meeting of state governments.
The CDU has recently polled at only 17 percent, far from the 28.2 percent it achieved in the 2023 election. Within the party, there are voices holding Wegner partly responsible. The SPD’s lead candidate, Steffen Krach, has ruled out cooperating with Wegner after the September election.
Source: Stadt München
