Kai Wegner has withdrawn as the Christian Democratic Union's lead candidate while saying he will remain Governing Mayor until a new coalition government is formed; he also intends to relinquish party leadership and will not take a ministerial post. The decision follows court-ordered disclosures that contradicted Wegner's earlier claim about when he began official crisis calls during a January arson-caused power outage that left tens of thousands without electricity, and criticism that he did not visit affected neighborhoods at the time. CDU Kreisvorsitzenden and the state executive committee will now choose a new lead candidate, with Finance Senator
Stefan Evers the clear frontrunner after party members and youth leaders pressed Wegner to step back to preserve credibility ahead of the September 20 election.