Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner and Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (both CDU) have made their relationship public. As lawyer Christian Schertz announced on Friday, both decided to enter into a relationship in the fall of 2023. They asked him to “confirm this for reasons of transparency in order to ensure clarity for everyone involved in the professional collaboration.”
In the end the pressure was probably too much. Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) actually had an appointment for this Friday at 10 a.m. He was planned to take part in the funeral service for the Green Party politician and former Justice Senator Wolfgang Wieland in the Passion Church in Berlin-Kreuzberg. But then the Senate Chancellery announced the cancellation. “Appointments will be taken over by the State Secretary for Justice, Dirk Feuerberg,” said the government’s official appointment list.
Pressure on Wegner has recently increased
It remained unclear whether Wegner’s rejection had anything to do with the rumors about the romantic liaison with his party colleague and Senator for Education Katharina Günther-Wunsch. In fact, Wegner has been under pressure for a week. On Friday there were increasing indications that Wegner would now pull the ripcord and break his silence. Because the pressure has increased immensely recently, the holidays are over on Sunday and politics is getting back to work. The CDU and coalition partner SPD have said that the matter must be resolved by then.
Last Friday, the ruler announced through the Senate spokeswoman that he had already separated from his previous partner and mother of his two youngest children in September. On Tuesday it was announced that from now on he would be represented by a lawyer “in all matters relating to his privacy”. But he did not want to comment on “rumors” about Wegner’s private life.
According to coalition circles, Wegner has been in an amorous relationship with Education Senator Günther-Wünsch for some time. The Tagesspiegel has been speaking to numerous Christian Democrats who know about the liaison for several weeks: Wegner and Günther-Wünsch would have maintained private contact more often in 2023, which is also known in security circles.
It is unclear when the love affair between the two CDU politicians may have begun. Some within the Union point out that Wegner and Günther-Wünsch have been a couple since at least May 2023.
Did the relationship already exist when the Senate came into office?
There are initial demands in the CDU that Wegner must ensure transparency. That is inevitable. CDU MPs speak in unison that the two are a couple and that this can be clearly seen.
At the same time, there has been increasing evidence in the past few days that the relationship between Wegner and Günther-Wünsch began before the new Senate was formed at the end of April and the two took office. It was agreed that the relationship between the two was “no longer a secret for a long time”. Several MPs spoke of “the beginning of the year”, but others did not want to confirm this.
In any case, the case could then become more sensitive for Wegner. Governing mayors are legally the head of the state government, so they have the authority to give instructions to the members of the Senate. They depend on the head of government; the Berlin constitution states: “The senators are appointed and dismissed by the governing mayor.”
“That wouldn’t work in a company,” said the state head of the “Junge Union”, Harald Burkart, about the possible liaison. His regional association insists on transparent dealings. “The debate must not be carried out solely at the expense of women,” he demanded. Behind closed doors, other party members have long been wondering what personnel consequences could follow from the matter. “Unfortunately, relationships of dependency are not uncommon in the Berlin CDU,” said Burkart.