BERLIN (dpa-AFX) – Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner is coming under pressure because of his actions in the longest power outage in Berlin’s post-war history. The CDU politician admitted that he had played tennis in southwest Berlin on Saturday a few hours after the blackout began – while 100,000 people affected without electricity, heating, internet and cell phone reception in the middle of winter were very worried, emergency shelters were quickly set up on site and help was on the way.
“I played tennis from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. because I just wanted to clear my head,” said Wegner on Welt TV. “I was reachable the whole time, even when I was playing tennis. The cell phone was turned off, I immediately went back and continued working.” The RBB had previously reported on the topic.
Wegner’s tennis partner was another Senate member: his partner, Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU), as the Senate spokeswoman confirmed. The “Tagesspiegel” had previously reported this.
Criticism of Wegner’s crisis management
The power outage caused by a suspected left-wing extremist arson attack was resolved on Wednesday afternoon and the supply was completely restored. Shortly afterwards, Wegner’s admission came and triggered a storm of indignation. AfD and FDP politicians called for his resignation. Eight months before the election to the Berlin House of Representatives on September 20th, the Left and the Greens also attacked Wegner harshly, as did top candidate Steffen Krach from the coalition partner SPD. Their tenor: Wegner let the people affected down, did not live up to his role as head of government and lied to the public about his activities on the first day of the mega blackout.
Wegner was already criticized for his crisis management. Representatives of other parties, as well as commentators in the Berlin media, blamed the 53-year-old for not being present in the districts affected by the power outage on Saturday, but only on Sunday. One of the reasons he justified this was that he had no opportunity to make phone calls to organize help in the crisis area – there was no internet or cell phone reception there.
Wegner on Sunday: “Was on the phone all day”
On Sunday, after a visit to an emergency shelter, Wegner responded to a snappy journalist’s question: “I wasn’t bored or put my feet up yesterday, but I was on the phone all day, trying to coordinate and get the best possible information because I think that helps people even more.” The CDU politician continued that he was at home on Saturday and locked himself in his office.
Now he admitted clumsy behavior. “Looking back, I should have said on Sunday what I did on Saturday, but I’ll tell you quite honestly: my focus was the 45,000 households,” said Wegner on RBB.
100,000 people affected by power outage
After the arson attack on a cable bridge in the Steglitz-Zehlendorf district, which a left-wing extremist group claimed responsibility for, 45,000 households and 2,200 companies were without power in southwest Berlin on Saturday morning. A total of around 100,000 people were affected. Over the past few days, some customers have been gradually reconnected. On the fifth day, the state-owned network operator Stromnetz Berlin finally managed to supply all those affected with electricity again.
After Wegner’s statements about the tennis match, a Senate spokeswoman said that the head of government had initially made telephone calls shortly after 8 a.m. on Saturday when he was informed about the power outage, including with the Chancellery and the Interior Ministry and various Senate administrations. The aim was to organize help – as Wegner himself had explained in the past few days. In addition, he and those around him had emphasized that without his commitment, help from the federal government, for example through the Bundeswehrwouldn’t have come so quickly.
Campaign ammunition for political opponents
In the upcoming election campaign for the Berlin election in September, which is also not unimportant nationwide, Wegner’s actions are now providing a clear template for the political competition. The 53-year-old probably missed the chance to present himself as a powerful crisis manager with symbolic images, like Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) during the Elbe floods in 2002.
“Kai Wegner probably didn’t play tennis in the locked study at home,” said the SPD politician Krach. Green Party lead candidate Werner Graf, who wants to move into the Red City Hall himself, said that Berliners have “different demands” on a governing mayor. Both avoided calls for their resignation – they are considered as potential coalition partners for the CDU after the next election.
AfD calls for resignation
Left country leader Maximilian Schirmer explained: “Anyone who would rather play tennis than be with people in their greatest need should perhaps consider whether this job is still the right one for them.” The AfD state and parliamentary group leader Kristin Brinker called for Wegner’s immediate resignation. He didn’t take the electricity crisis seriously enough.
Wegner did not answer the question of whether he wanted to resign on the RBB in the evening with yes or no. “I can’t prevent the opposition from saying that now,” he said./kr/ah/DP/zb