Berlin Mayor Kai Wegner has announced that he is withdrawing from his bid for re-election in the September 20 elections, following increased political pressure and new revelations about how he managed the massive power outage that hit the German capital in early 2026.

In a statement on Friday, Wegner said he would ask the leaders of the Berlin branch of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) to withdraw his candidacy. "I will tell the CDU leadership in Berlin that I am withdrawing my candidacy and will no longer be the lead candidate. My story, unfortunately, cannot be presented to the citizens as long as attention is focused on another issue," he said.

The decision comes after Wegner faced strong criticism for his statements regarding the response during the energy crisis. He initially stated that he had stayed home on the first day of the power outage to coordinate the work of the authorities, but later admitted that he had gone to play tennis with his partner, Katharina Günter-Wuns, who is a senator for education in the Berlin government.

Wegner also claimed to have been in contact with officials from the Chancellery and federal ministries during the crisis, claims that were later denied by the relevant institutions. According to published information, he had only sent a few messages from his mobile phone and did not appear at the crisis center until the next day.

The scandal has significantly damaged the CDU's political standing in Berlin. According to recent polls, the party is ranked fourth, behind the Left, the Greens and the Alternative for Germany (AfD). The CDU's youth organization and a number of party officials in Berlin had publicly called for Wegner to step down from the candidacy. After his withdrawal, attention has focused on a possible successor at the head of the election campaign, with the Senator for Economic Affairs, Stefan Evers, considered the most favored candidate.

Meanwhile, commentators in the German media also question the possibility of Kai Wegner remaining in office as mayor until the September elections.