Overview
- In a Spiegel interview, Kai Wegner says his phone was on the bench, set to loud, and that he repeatedly checked for updates during the match.
- He argues an immediate site visit would not have helped residents, citing a Red Cross worker who preferred his arrival on Sunday to avoid disruption.
- Wegner initially left the tennis outing out of his public account, prompting ridicule on social media and an advertising jab from Sixt.
- Opposition parties including AfD and FDP demanded his resignation, Greens figure Ricarda Lang mocked him, and Chancellor Friedrich Merz praised responders without naming the mayor.
- The January 3 outage was the longest in southwest Berlin since World War II, affecting tens of thousands without heat, and Wegner says he intends to remain in office through September’s elections.