Berlin mayor under fire for playing tennis during massive blackout

Berlin's mayor, Kai Wegner, has faced a wave of criticism after revealing he played tennis during the city's largest blackout in decades.

The outage, caused by a suspected arson attack on a cable bridge in the city's south-west, left around 100,000 residents without power, heating, or phone service on Saturday, forcing authorities to set up emergency shelters for those affected.

Wegner, a member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU), told Welt TV he played tennis for about an hour in the afternoon to "clear his head" while remaining reachable by phone. He said he immediately returned home afterwards and continued coordinating the response.

According to his office, he had been on calls with federal and city authorities to organize aid and credited his engagement with helping speed up relief, including support from the German military.

The blackout initially disrupted 45,000 households and 2,200 businesses as temperatures in the snow-covered capital hovered below freezing. Authorities gradually restored power over five days.

Wegner's admission sparked criticism from opposition politicians and commentators, who said it gave the impression he was absent during a major crisis. Some called for his resignation, while others said the episode could become campaign fodder ahead of Berlin's state election in September.

Wegner declined to respond directly to calls for his resignation, saying he could not control what the opposition says.

The mayor also faced criticism for not visiting affected neighbourhoods on Saturday, instead working from home and his office and visiting the area only on Sunday. Wegner defended his decision, saying poor internet and mobile phone reception in the blackout zone would have made it impossible to coordinate relief efforts on site.

Observers noted the mayor missed an opportunity to project leadership with symbolic action on the ground, as other political figures in Germany have done during past crises.