At the party conference of the Berlin state association of the CDU, Christian Democrats elected a top candidate for the upcoming re-election. The state and faction leader Kai Wegner will go against Franziska Giffey (SPD) in the race.

The state and parliamentary group leader Kai Wegner is leading the Berlin CDU in the election campaign for the repeat election on February 12. At a party conference on Saturday, the 50-year-old was elected the top candidate in an open vote with a large majority. There were no votes against and only one abstention.

In a one-hour speech, Wegner had previously reiterated the CDU’s claim to be the strongest force in the election and to replace the red-green-red with Prime Minister Franziska Giffey (SPD). “And yes, I want to be Governing Mayor. Well, what else,” he said.

Berlin’s Constitutional Court ruled on November 16 that the election to the House of Representatives must be repeated in its entirety. The vote in September 2021 was invalid due to “serious systemic deficiencies” and many electoral errors. According to the verdict, the parties must compete with the same applicants as then. This applies to both list and direct candidates.

In 2021, Wegner was chosen as the top candidate at a CDU party conference in a secret ballot with around 90 percent. In the elections to the House of Representatives, the CDU became the third strongest behind the SPD and the Greens.

The price spiral keeps turning. More and more municipal utilities will raise prices in the coming year. Rising energy costs are increasingly becoming an additional burden for households and companies. FOCUS online says which public utilities are affected and what you can do about it.

By the end of January, every property owner in Germany must have completed the property tax assessment. Already the excitement is huge. The constitutional lawyer Gregor Kirchhof explains why the property tax reform was necessary and what went wrong in the implementation.

Because of the increased rental costs, many federal states want to grant their civil servants high back payments from tax funds. Depending on where they live, officials with two children could be paid a five-digit amount. It doesn’t matter whether the officials live in rented accommodation or in their own home.

Also interesting for you:

The infamous Black Friday is just around the corner. But there are plenty of bargains out there. You can currently save primarily on technology, household appliances, fashion, jewelery and toys. We’ve looked around at the retailers and found strong offers that you shouldn’t miss.