Stefan Evers elected unanimously as CDU Berlin top candidate for September 20, 2026 election

Herz — World Desk · 13 July 2026 at 19:16 · 30s summary · 4 min read

Stefan Evers has been elected unanimously as top candidate (Spitzenkandidat, the term referring to a party's principal candidate for the leadership of a regional government) of the Berlin CDU for elections to Berlin state parliament (Abgeordnetenhaus) scheduled for September 20, 2026. The Berlin CDU leadership made this decision on July 13, 2026 in the late afternoon, according to Die Zeit and Tagesschau.

What we know

Stefan Evers, 46, from Westphalia, already holds several responsibilities in the city's government: Senator for Finance, Senator for Culture, and Deputy Governing Mayor of Berlin. He was also vice president of the Berlin CDU's state organization.

The party leadership also entrusted him with interim leadership of the Berlin CDU's state organization (Landesverband). His formal confirmation will take place at a party congress, whose date has not yet been specified.

The Berlin CDU's secretary general, Ottilie Klein, is leaving her position. On Evers's proposal, federal deputy Lukas Krieger, chairman of the CDU in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district, succeeds her as interim secretary general. This appointment was also adopted unanimously.

Kai Wegner's withdrawal

Kai Wegner, Governing Mayor of Berlin — the mayor and head of government of the city-state, elected by the Berlin parliament —, announced his withdrawal from leading candidacy on Friday, July 11, 2026. The chairs of the CDU's local sections immediately proposed Evers as his successor on the same day.

This withdrawal followed months of controversy over his management of a multi-day power outage that occurred in January 2026, caused by an arson attack in Berlin. During the crisis, he played tennis privately. He subsequently falsely claimed to have telephoned continuously from early morning, when in fact he had only sent text messages and made no phone calls in the morning of the incident.

In the latest polls, the CDU was no longer in more than fourth place among Berlin parties. Support for Wegner had also declined within the party itself.

Timeline

1. January 2026
   An arson attack causes a multi-day power outage in Berlin. The management of the crisis by Kai Wegner sparks lasting controversy.
2. January–July 2026
   Months of public and internal debate over Wegner's contradictory statements. The CDU drops to fourth place among Berlin parties in polls; internal support for Wegner erodes.