Berlin mayor lied about morning crisis calls during January blackout, Senate records reveal
Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner falsely claimed he started coordinating the response to January's massive power outage with phone calls at 8:08 a.m. Senate Chancellery records, released after a court order, show no official calls were made before 12:45 p.m.
The disputed phone calls
On 3 January, a fire attack on a cable bridge plunged 45,000 households in southwest Berlin into darkness. Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) later told Welt TV on 7 January that he had begun crisis calls at 8:08 that morning. "I actually started making phone calls at 8:08 a.m. I spoke with the crisis teams, with the power grid," he said. Now, information forced from the Senate Chancellery by a Tagesspiegel court application (VG 27 L 103/26) contradicts that account. The authority stated that "no phone call was made before 12:45 p.m." and that "the exchange took place via text messages instead." The first call, at 12:45, was with Economics Senator Franziska Giffey (SPD).
- Only text messages exchanged; no official phone calls made.
- First official phone call, with Economics Senator Franziska Giffey.
- Wegner tells Welt TV he began crisis calls at 8:08 a.m.
- Wegner apologizes for communication mistakes.
- Tagesspiegel reveals no morning calls, based on court-ordered disclosure.
Opposition demands resignation
The revelation drew sharp condemnation from across the political spectrum. Left Party mayoral candidate Elif Eralp told Tagesspiegel:
Green lead candidate Bettina Jarasch said Wegner had "lost all trust of Berliners, who can no longer rely on the truth of his statements." AfD frontwoman Kristin Brinker called him "characterologically unfit" for office, while SPD lead Steffen Krach said his "conduct in office is inadequate, his relationship with the truth shameful" and suggested he should resign before the September election.Whoever lies three times, you don't vote for.
A pattern of false statements
This is at least the third instance of Wegner giving inaccurate information about his actions on the first day of the blackout. He initially claimed he had "locked himself in at home" all day coordinating by phone, but later it emerged he played a tennis match at midday. When that became public, he justified it by saying he needed to clear his head after many calls, including with the federal government. However, a previous Tagesspiegel investigation in March (VG 27 L 53/26) showed those contacts with Stromnetz Berlin, the Chancellery, and the Interior Ministry occurred later in the day, some only in the evening. Wegner apologized in March:
Yes, I made communication mistakes and I would like to apologize to all Berliners for that.
The blackout's impact
The arson attack on a cable bridge in January left around 100,000 people without power for days. The outage exposed weaknesses in the city's infrastructure and crisis management. Wegner's handling of the event has become a central issue ahead of the Berlin House of Representatives election on 20 September 2026.
Election stakes
With the election approaching, the scandal threatens Wegner's CDU and its coalition with the SPD. Polls show the Left Party leading, and opposition figures are using the controversy to paint Wegner as untrustworthy. The Senate Chancellery has declined to comment further on the dpa's inquiries.
