Berlin’s First Conservative Mayor In 22 Years Takes Office

BERLIN, Germany  — Following a state election in which he capitalized on unrest in the German city, Berlin’s first conservative mayor in 22 years entered office on Thursday. He had a rough start due to conflicts within his alliance.

Kai Wegner’s center-right Christian Democratic Union emerged as the largest party in the February rerun election, which a court ordered due to major flaws in the previous poll in 2021. The CDU celebrated its first victory in a major city, something it has struggled with in previous years, as all three parties in Berlin’s outgoing left-wing government lost adherents.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s center-left Social Democrats had ruled Berlin since 2001, most recently under former federal minister Franziska Giffey.

The state assembly chose Wegner mayor on Thursday after Giffey determined that her party would be best served by becoming the CDU’s junior coalition partner rather than continuing to head a weakened and frequently fractious left-wing alliance. Members of her party narrowly approved her candidature in a recent balloting.

Wegner needed three rounds of voting to garner enough support from parliamentarians, likely reflecting divides within Giffey’s party.

Berlin’s first conservative mayor in 22 years entered office on Thursday.

Giffey is appointed as Wegner’s economy minister. She will be part of an 11-member regional cabinet including seven women and the CDU’s first Black state minister, music manager Joe Chialo, the incoming culture minister.

Voters were enraged by the 2021 election fiasco and what, by German standards, is a dysfunctional bureaucracy – in recent years, even getting simple paperwork done in Berlin has often required lengthy waits. Wegner has promised to take personal responsibility for overhauling the city’s administration.

There is also simmering resentment about growing flat rental fees, which have long been a source of contention in Berlin, one of three German cities stated in their own right. The country’s 16 state governments wield considerable power in various policy sectors.

Wegner, 50, will be eager to make an impression immediately, as his government needs more time to prove itself. It will only serve the five-year term that began with Berlin’s failed election in September 2021.

SOURCE – (AP)