New Coalition in Berlin Elects First Openly Gay Mayor

BERLIN â€”  City lawmakers elected Berlin’s first openly gay mayor Saturday, bolstering the city’s credentials as one of the world’s gay capitals, in a political shift that also could open the way for the former East German Communists to enter the government.

Klaus Wowereit, a Social Democrat, takes over on an interim basis after the coalition that ruled the city for a decade collapsed amid a bank scandal and mounting debts.

The shift removed the conservative Christian Democrats, led by outgoing Mayor Eberhard Diepgen, who had been the senior partners with the center-left Social Democrats in the coalition formed soon after reunification.

At least until new elections this fall, Berlin will be run by a coalition of the Social Democrats and the Greens party--mirroring the national government led by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

Schroeder welcomed Wowereit’s win Saturday, saying it opened “new prospects� for the capital.

But until the new elections, the city’s coalition will lack a majority and need backing from the Party of Democratic Socialism--the successors to the Communists in former East Germany.

And Wowereit has not ruled out bringing the neo-Communists into his government--a prospect that angered conservatives, who say the Communists have not distanced themselves enough from the brutal East German regime.

“It’s a bad day for the capital and sends a wrong signal for Germany’s political culture,� Christian Democratic Secretary-General Laurenz Meyer said. “For power, the Social Democratic Party is today selling its ideals and roots.�

Wowereit, 47, was a little-known political figure before grabbing nationwide attention last week when he came out at a party convention before his nomination.

“I am gay, and that’s a good thing,� he said, later admitting that he made the statement because of rumors that tabloids were planning a story on his homosexuality.

Since then, he has emphasized in interviews that he’s a “politician who’s gay, but not a gay politician�--and that he hasn’t focused on gay issues.

Nevertheless, Wowereit’s election was greeted with applause and some cheers when it was announced Saturday at a street festival in Berlin’s Schoeneberg district, the heart of the city’s thriving gay and lesbian scene.

“The symbolism is important--in Germany and in the capital, also in eastern Germany,� said Bodo Mende, a board member of the national Lesbian and Gay Assn. “Thank God that this is possible in Germany.�