Contrary to an earlier statement, Berlin’s governing mayor was Kai Wegner (CDU) last Saturday not consistent with crisis management after the arson attack on the power grid. According to research by broadcaster RBB, Wegner was at a tennis court on the outskirts of Berlin at lunchtime. The broadcaster reports this, citing the Senate Chancellery. According to this, Wegner played tennis between 1 and 2 p.m but always accessible have been.
Stromnetz Berlin GmbH reported the power outage at 6:40 a.m. on Saturday: “Estimated to be resolved by 6:30 p.m..” At 12:46 p.m. the network operator reported: “A time for resupply cannot yet be specified.” And then at 4:51 p.m.: The power will come back “probably on Thursday afternoon.”
It was already known at noon that the Blackout lasts longer. Kai Wegner went to the tennis court when it was already clear that the power outage would not end in the foreseeable future. On Sunday, however, when asked by journalists why he wasn’t with the crisis team, the governing mayor replied: “I was at home, literally locked myself in my office at home and then coordinated.”
Recommended editorial content
Here you will find external content selected by our editors to enrich the article with additional information for you. Here you can display or hide the external content with one click.
I agree that the external content can be displayed to me. This means that personal data can be transmitted to third-party platforms. You can find more information about this in the data protection settings. You can find these at the bottom of our page in the footer, so you can manage or revoke your settings at any time.
The governing mayor confirmed to “Welt” that he played tennis between 1 and 2 p.m. Wegner literally said: “Yes, then I played tennis from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. because I just wanted to clear my head.” At the same time, he emphasized that he was available the entire time – including on the pitch – and returned straight to his office afterwards. He had already spoken to the federal government and Chancellor Merz on the phone that morning and created the conditions so that “we can get the Bundeswehr to deal with the crisis.”
The ruler was in the current Crisis situation came under criticism several times. The opposition complained that he did not visit the parts of the city affected by the massive power outage on the first day. Wegner rejected these allegations and emphasized that he was involved in crisis management from the beginning.
Transparency note: In a previous version of the article, Kai Wegner was quoted as saying: “I was at home all day because I had to make a phone call. I locked myself in my office.” In fact, he said verbatim: “I was at home, literally locked myself in my office at home and then coordinated.”
