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Berlin Mayor and Chancellor: Did They Speak During Power Outage or Not?
🇩🇪 Germany

Berlin Mayor and Chancellor: Did They Speak During Power Outage or Not?

From Der Spiegel · () German

Translated from German, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News From a news agency Context piece
  • Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner's office stated he spoke with Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a January power outage, contradicting a Chancellery report.
  • The Chancellery's statement, obtained by dpa, indicated no personal or phone conversation occurred between Merz and Wegner during the outage.
  • Wegner resigned as the CDU's lead candidate for the September state election amid criticism over conflicting statements about his calls during the blackout.

Confusion surrounds whether Berlin's Governing Mayor Kai Wegner spoke with Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a significant power outage in the German capital earlier this year. Wegner's office maintains that a phone call did take place on January 4, stating, "First, the Governing Mayor was already in contact with the Chancellery on January 3. Second, the Governing Mayor spoke with the Chancellor on January 4."

First, the Governing Mayor was already in contact with the Chancellery on January 3. Second, the Governing Mayor spoke with the Chancellor on January 4.

— Senate Chancellery of BerlinStating that Governing Mayor Kai Wegner spoke with Chancellor Friedrich Merz during the January power outage.

However, the Chancellery's office has provided a conflicting account. According to a report by "Der Tagesspiegel," a letter from the Chancellery states, "to the extent ascertainable, the Chancellor did not have a personal conversation with the Governing Mayor of Berlin Wegner during the period of the power outage in Berlin in January 2026, neither in person nor by telephone."

A government spokesperson confirmed these details from a court filing by the Chancellery to dpa. "Der Tagesspiegel" had filed an urgent application based on press law after the Chancellery delayed providing information on the alleged phone calls for weeks.

to the extent ascertainable, the Chancellor did not have a personal conversation with the Governing Mayor of Berlin Wegner during the period of the power outage in Berlin in January 2026, neither in person nor by telephone.

— German ChancelleryContradicting the Berlin Senate Chancellery's account of a phone call between Merz and Wegner during the power outage.

The conflicting statements have fueled criticism against Wegner for months. On Friday, he announced his resignation as the CDU's top candidate for the September state election, though he intends to remain Governing Mayor until a successor is elected. Wegner had previously stated on January 5 that he had spoken with the Chancellor "once again." His office reiterated that the call occurred but did not explain the discrepancy with the Chancellery's account.

I have indeed started making the phone calls at 8:08 a.m. I spoke with the crisis teams, with the power grid.

— Kai WegnerDescribing his actions during the power outage in an interview.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Der Spiegel in German. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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