The Senate Chancellery confirmed on July 7, 2026, that Berlin's governing mayor Kai Wegner made no official phone calls before 12:45 p.m. on January 3. This contradicts his earlier statements in an interview.
An arson attack on January 3 had interrupted power supply to up to 45,000 households in Steglitz-Zehlendorf for four days. Wegner had stated in a Welt TV interview on January 7 that he began making phone calls at 8:08 a.m.
The Senate Chancellery now said no call took place before 12:45 p.m. The exchange instead occurred via text messages. The first call at 12:45 p.m. was with Economy Senator Franziska Giffey.
SPD leader Steffen Krach demanded consequences and said Wegner had severely damaged the office. The Greens and the FDP also sharply criticized the statements and spoke of a loss of trust.
