Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner Withdraws from September Election After “Tennis-Gate”

On Friday, 10 July 2026, Berlin’s mayor Kai Wegner announced that he would not stand for re-election in the city’s 20 September vote. Wegner said the decision was forced by a loss of public trust after his decision to play tennis with education minister Katharina Günther-Wünsch hours after a city-wide power blackout began.

The Guardian

In January 2026, an arson attack triggered a blackout that left roughly 45,000 homes and 2,000 businesses without electricity for nearly a week during a severe cold spell—the longest outage since World War II. Wegner told reporters he worked “round the clock” to coordinate the emergency response, saying he “literally locked myself in my office at home.” Hours after the outage began, he was reported by public broadcaster RBB to have played tennis for an hour with his partner, a detail he later acknowledged and admitted his wording was “wrong.”

The Guardian

Wegner explained that his campaign withdrawal was intended to protect the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) from further damage, noting that internal polls showed the party falling to fourth place behind Die Linke, the Greens, and the AfD (CDU 17 % vs. Die Linke 20 %). He asserted that his management of the emergency had been effective despite communication errors. The CDU received an open letter from party members urging Wegner to step down, and the party is expected to nominate Stefan Evers, Berlin’s finance senator, as its new candidate.

The Guardian

Party insiders and the public condemned Wegner’s conduct as a breach of leadership responsibility during a crisis. The open letter and widespread media outcry framed the incident as “tennis-gate,” arguing that the mayor had lost the authority to govern. Poll data released on 1 July highlighted the CDU’s slide, reinforcing calls for a leadership change.

The Guardian

• “The communication was rubbish … and believe me, I am more annoyed about this than anyone else,” — Kai Wegner

The Guardian

• “I can no longer get my message out because another debate is overshadowing everything else,” — Kai Wegner

The Guardian

• “I was neither bored nor putting my feet up, but was on the phone all day trying to coordinate and get as much information as possible,” — Kai Wegner

The Guardian

• “Looking back, I should have said on Sunday what I did on Saturday,” — Kai Wegner

The Guardian

• “Yes, at some point I said: ‘I need a short break, I need to clear my head’ and the best way for me to do that is with sport.” — Kai Wegner

The Guardian