SPD top candidate Krach rules out coalition with Wegner after Berlin election

The SPD's top candidate attacked the head of government sharply. "Es ist völlig klar, dass jemand, der die Berlinerinnen und Berliner über sein Krisenmanagement am Tag des Stromanschlags nachweislich getäuscht und mehrfach gelogen hat, für das Amt des Regierenden Bürgermeisters nicht geeignet ist. Kai Wegner hat sich für diese Aufgabe vollständig disqualifiziert," Krach said. Looking ahead to a possible future government, he added: "Ich werde es in keiner Konstellation zulassen, dass Kai Wegner in einem künftigen Senat eine Rolle übernehmen kann."

Background: Allegations regarding the January blackout

The backdrop to the dispute is the days-long blackout in Berlin in early January. According to the 'Tagesspiegel', Wegner had not conducted any official phone calls about the blackout on the morning of January 3; according to the Senate Chancellery, the first official conversation with the Senator for Economic Affairs, Franziska Giffey (SPD), did not take place until 12:45 p.m. The Senate Chancellery also stated: "Vielmehr fand der Austausch per Textnachrichten statt." The 'B.Z.' reported on March 24 that on the morning of the blackout, Wegner had mainly communicated with his staff via text messages. In an interview with Welt TV on January 7, Wegner had stated: "Ich habe in der Tat um 8.08 Uhr begonnen, die Telefonate zu führen. Ich habe mit den Krisenstäben telefoniert, mit Stromnetz."

Wegner had also come under criticism for initially concealing on the first day of the blackout that he was playing a tennis match at midday. He wrote on the platform X: "Durch meine Aussagen Anfang Januar ist ein Eindruck entstanden, den ich bis heute sehr bedauere." Wegner also stated that he had made two phone calls on January 3 before 1:00 p.m. and had otherwise communicated mainly via text message. According to his own account, he also spoke in March with the newspapers 'Bild' and 'B.Z.' and apologized.

Pressure from within his own party

Pressure on Wegner is also growing from within his own ranks. The chairman of the Junge Union in Berlin, Harald Burkart, called on him to step down immediately as the CDU's top candidate. Speaking to the portal The Pioneer, Burkart said one reason for the CDU's negative trend in the polls was a "Glaubwürdigkeitsproblem an der Spitze," and demanded that a candidate instead take the stage "der in seiner persönlichen Integrität unangreifbar sei." Die Linke's top candidate Elif Eralp told the 'Tagesspiegel': "Wer dreimal lügt, den wählt man nicht."

The pressure weighs all the more heavily because the CDU has lost significant ground in the polls. In an Infratest-dimap survey for RBB in early July, Die Linke came in at 20 percent, followed by the Greens at 19, the AfD at 18, the CDU at 17, and the SPD at 13 percent. In the 2023 Berlin election, the CDU had still reached around 28 percent. The FDP is not represented in the House of Representatives.

Poll situation and possible coalitions

According to these figures, the CDU and SPD together would no longer have a majority; a three-party alliance would be needed to achieve a governing majority. Alongside the SPD, the Greens would then be the CDU's second potential coalition partner — but they too have already withdrawn their trust in Wegner, according to earlier statements. The only party with which, according to Krach, no coalition is conceivable is the AfD.

According to the dpa report, the SPD is moving "auf immer größere Distanz zum Regierenden Bürgermeister." With the September 20 election just weeks away, an open conflict is taking shape between the CDU-SPD coalition and the SPD leadership in the capital — and within the CDU itself, an open personnel debate over the top candidacy.