Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner and Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (both CDU) have made their relationship public. As the lawyer Christian Schertz told the German Press Agency on Friday, both decided to enter into a relationship in autumn 2023. They asked him to “confirm this for reasons of transparency in order to ensure clarity for everyone involved in the professional collaboration.”
Schertz further explained: “Regardless of the fact that such a constellation does not contradict any legal provisions, it is of course self-evident that those involved strictly separate private and professional matters in connection with their official duties.” The lawyer also asked that the privacy of Wegner, 51, and Günther-Wünsch, 40, also in the interests of their families. The Berliner Zeitung asked both politicians and the Berlin CDU. There was no answer on Friday.
Wegner decided early on to choose Günther-Wünsch as Senator for Education
Shortly before the end of the year, the Senate Chancellery announced that Wegner and his previous partner, with whom he has two children, separated in September 2023. The 40-year-old education senator is married to another man and has several children. A few days ago, two newspapers first reported on a possible relationship between Wegner and Günther-Wünsch. Both Berlin government members initially did not comment on this. Questions about a possible conflict of interest and possible political consequences were raised in the media.
In February 2023, Berliners elected a new House of Representatives. The CDU became the strongest party. The black-red state government was sworn in at the end of April. Before that there was a red-green-red alliance. Wegner introduced Günther-Wünsch as his designated education senator at a very early stage and campaigned with her.
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The Berlin Greens group sees the risk of conflicts of interest. “We are happy when lovers find each other, but this love is not a purely private matter. It affects the work of the Senate. Just admitting the relationship is not enough,” criticized Green Party leader Bettina Jarasch on Friday. “The fact that they are now creating transparency was long overdue, but it does not solve the question of conflicts of interest.”
Jarasch does not believe that Wegner and Günther-Wünsch can separate professional and private life. “There are foreseeable conflicts of interest in working together in the Senate. “This concerns, for example, conflicts regarding the budget and dealing with the ruler’s authority to make directives,” explained the Green politician. The question is also open as to how conflicts between Senate members will be decided. “Can Kai Wegner then still take leadership or is he biased?” The governing mayor is obliged to provide clarity as to how the Senate will deal with these conflicts. “He owes this transparency to the people of Berlin, the parliament and democracy.”