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Berlin Mayor Addresses Blackout Fallout, Unveils Security Package and Law Reform

Opposition parties questioned his credibility, with some demanding an apology.

Overview

  • In a government declaration, Kai Wegner said he should have disclosed his one-hour tennis session on the first day of the outage but stopped short of apologizing.
  • He praised the crisis response as effective and announced a security package with video surveillance of key sites, private security patrols, audits of S-Bahn and BVG vulnerabilities, and reserves of generators and fuel.
  • He called for tougher action against left-wing extremism and sought expanded digital powers for authorities, including longer IP-address retention and enhanced image-search tools.
  • Wegner proposed reforming Berlin’s disaster law to clarify powers for declaring a major-damage situation to speed access to federal assistance.
  • Investigations into the suspected left-wing arson that cut power to about 45,000 households and over 2,000 businesses now fall under the Federal Prosecutor, with full supply restored since January 7.