"Berlin mayor Kai Wegner drew criticism after admitting to journalists he played tennis on the first day of the city's largest blackout in decades, as tens of thousands were left without power, heating and phone service. The outage that began last Saturday was caused by an arson attack on a cable bridge in the city's southwest. It initially cut electricity to 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses, with some 100,000 residents left without heat as temperatures hovered below freezing."
"Wegner, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), said he played tennis for an hour Saturday with his partner, Berlin Senator Katharina Gunther-Wunsch, around five hours after the blackout began. He said he needed time to "clear his head" after taking phone calls, and remained reachable. Social Democrat (SPD) Walter Momper, who was Berlin's mayor from March 1989 to January 1991, told Germany's DPA news agency that Wegner's actions on Saturday as the blackout began deserve an "explanation.""
An arson attack on a cable bridge in southwest Berlin caused a blackout beginning last Saturday, cutting electricity to 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses and leaving about 100,000 residents without heat as temperatures hovered below freezing. Power was fully restored over five days, the longest blackout in Berlin's postwar history. Mayor Kai Wegner, a CDU member, played tennis for an hour with partner Berlin Senator Katharina Gunther-Wunsch about five hours after the outage began, saying he needed time to "clear his head" after taking phone calls and remained reachable. Critics said Wegner failed to respond appropriately, did not visit affected neighborhoods, and initially omitted mentioning the tennis.
Read at www.dw.com
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