Kai Wegner (CDU), Berlin’s new governing mayor, is sitting on the Senate bench for the first time Photo: dpa
From Hildburg Bruns
Further fuss about the AfD votes. Kai Wegner (50, CDU) was elected in a secret ballot with 86 yes votes.
► The CDU and SPD together have exactly 86 votes – so the full load of GroKo could be behind it.
► The AfD claims, however, that ten of their MPs chose Wegner.
In a secret ballot, there is no evidence one way or the other – the far-right party knows how to take advantage of that.
She released a list of Wegner supporters on Friday “to end speculation.” Group leader Kristin Brinker (50) is also on it.
The claim: “If these MPs had not voted for Kai Wegner, but against, he would have failed with 76:80 votes in the third ballot.”
At GroKo, such arithmetic skills do not work. The new CDU faction leader Dirk Stettner (53): “These Pinocchios have to be careful whether they can still get through the parliament doors with their long noses. Kai Wegner received 86 votes, exactly as many as this coalition has. Not one more or less.”