Berlin's first conservative mayor in 22 years took office on Thursday following a state election in which he capitalized on discontent in the German capital. Amid divisions in his own coalition, he had a rocky start.
Kai Wegner's center-right Christian Democratic Union, Germany's main opposition party, emerged as the biggest party in the February rerun election that was ordered by a court because of serious glitches in the previous vote in 2021. The CDU celebrated winning in a big city, which it has struggled to do in recent years, while all three parties in Berlin's outgoing left-wing government lost supporters.
