Berlin mayor called to resign after he was playing tennis during massive blackout

Berlin Mayor Kai Wagner is being called on to resign after he played tennis on the first day of a massive power outage in the city.

This is reported by the German media outlet Die Zeit.

Journalists discovered that Wagner was at a tennis court on the outskirts of Berlin when tens of thousands of people were left without electricity and heating. The mayor later confirmed this information, but said that he remained in touch the entire time and coordinated the actions of the services before and after the game.

"I didnʼt sit around. I was on the phone all day and trying to keep the situation under control," Wagner explained, adding that he "literally locked myself in my home office".

Despite this, opposition politicians sharply criticized the mayor. Representatives of the Alternative for Germany, the Free Democratic Party, the Left Party, and the Greens said that Wagner abandoned the townspeople at a time of crisis and lied about his involvement in overcoming the consequences of the accident.

At the same time, Wagnerʼs Christian Democratic Union faction publicly defended him. According to media reports, during an internal meeting, the mayor admitted that he had failed with communication and should have been more open.

• On the morning of January 3, a fire damaged key power cables on the bridge over the Teltow Canal leading to the Lichterfelde power plant. The Vulkangruppe group claimed responsibility for the arson, saying it was acting against “energy greed” and the influence of big tech companies.
• Authorities are calling the arson an act of terrorism. Federal Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the attack was well-planned and shows the return of left-wing terrorism in Germany.

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