Berlin’s governing mayor Kai Wegner will not run as the CDU’s top candidate for the Abgeordnetenhaus in September. The 53-year-old stated on Friday that he does not want “the CDU to be weakened further by personnel debates in the coming days and weeks.” He does not want to resign immediately, however.
So far it remains unclear who will stand for the CDU in the Berlin state election on September 20. It is possible that Stefan Evers, Berlin’s openly gay Finance and Culture Senator, will throw his hat into the ring.
“Yes, I made communicative mistakes. And I regret that the most. That was stupid,” Wegner said in a statement. The mayor, who has been in office since 2023, had come under pressure within his own party in recent months, particularly for his crisis management after a major power outage in January.
Back then, tens of thousands of households were left without electricity and heating for days following what was suspected to be a left-wing extremism–linked arson attack on Berlin’s power grid. Wegner, however, on the crisis’s first day, went to play tennis with his party colleague and partner, Katharina Günther-Wünsch, the Education Senator who is controversial within the queer community. He himself had claimed that he was locked at home in the morning and had been in constant calls with crisis task forces, the Berlin power grid, and the federal government—a claim later exposed as false by media outlets.
Criticism of the CSD Truck
In addition, there has been criticism in recent weeks of a CSD (Christopher Street Day) truck funded by the Berlin Senate, for which 375,000 euros were spent two months before the state election (TheColu.mn reported). Berlin’s sitting mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) had initially planned to ride on the truck with other politicians on July 25.
Most recently, Klaus Lederer, the left party’s queer affairs spokesperson who is leaving the Berlin Parliament and who used to be the Culture Senator, had the expenditures itemized in a parliamentary inquiry and expressed skepticism about whether the truck’s purpose was truly to support the queer community or whether it was, in fact, about Wegner’s self-promotion two months before the election.
“Why do city marketing for Berlin in Berlin?”
As the exclusive report in Tagesspiegel (PDF) revealed, more than half of the budget—about 197,000 euros—was spent on advertising, including media space within the city or ads in publications. These promotional efforts are shown exclusively in Berlin and not in the other 15 federal states. “One wonders in a campaign year: Why do city marketing for Berlin in Berlin?” Lederer explained.
Lederer, who generally views the CSD engagement positively, argued that the Berlin truck’s purpose was overshadowed by the impression that it is not about the community’s concerns but Wegner’s self-promotion two months before the election.
The launch fee for the truck stands at 6,250 euros in official figures—less than two percent of Berlin’s total budget. That is the only contribution that goes directly to the CSD association. Other cost items include: 22,600 euros for creative costs, design, and graphics; almost 20,500 euros for technology; about 19,700 euros for personnel—roughly for setup; another 12,800 euros for truck rental, including a power generator and a toilet. There are additional costs for branding (8,600 euros) and for social media presence and on-site support (7,200 euros).
SPD Keeps Its Distance from the Berlin CSD Truck
There is also evident discontent within the coalition partner SPD regarding the truck’s costs. In response to a request from the Tagesspiegel, several SPD senate administrations said they would not be present on the truck. Economic Minister Franziska Giffey and Social Minister Cansel Kiziltepe would be on vacation and would not participate; Science Minister Ina Czyborra decided to ride on the truck of the Berlin SPD and the Workers’ Welfare Association instead. Interior Minister Iris Spranger would also not take part. SPD’s queer commissioner Alfonso Pantisano apparently did not back the mayor on the Berlin truck and was not involved in its planning, the social administration stated.
Additionally, according to the Tagesspiegel, SPD member Wiebke Neumann asked the Senate Chancellery in writing whether the CSD truck was a “campaign one-off” or genuine support for queer people. The state chancellery said the planning already included a CSD truck for 2025, which, however, was later postponed.
CDU Falls from First to Fourth Place Under Wegner
According to recent polls, the CDU could not currently sustain its coalition with the SPD. A survey released just over a week ago by Infratest-DiMAP shows the CDU at 17 percent and the SPD at 13 percent—meaning the two parties would fall from first and second place to fourth and fifth. The Left would be the strongest party at 20 percent, closely followed by the Greens at 19 percent and the AfD at 18 percent. The FDP and BSW would miss entering the parliament with three percent each. If these results held, a red-green-red coalition led by the Left or a green-black-red coalition would be possible.
Wegner has attended the CSD in recent years and campaigned for Berlin as a “Rainbow Capital” (TheColu.mn reported). Under his administration, last year the Federal Council achieved a majority for protecting queer people in the constitution (TheColu.mn reported). However, that demand from the queer community remains blocked in the Bundestag due to broad opposition within parts of the CDU (TheColu.mn reported).
