Backfiring government digital strategy
Federal Minister for Digital Affairs Volker Wissing (FDP) lists a whole smorgasbord of projects to underline the success of his digitalisation strategy. It is full of flagship projects, pilot programmes and financial aid, designed to ensure more digital processes in the economy and society. The concrete examples cited from the recent past, such as the e-prescription, the 49 euro a month Deutschland-Ticket, and the digital ID card, are often presented as the direct result of these efforts.
Politicians are actually doing something for the future of the business location. They have now also realised that economic growth will not be possible without a modern infrastructure and fully digitalised economic and administrative processes, and the attractiveness of the location for investors from home and abroad would decrease dramatically.
The flaws in the digital strategy
But the projects listed in the federal government's digital strategy have one major flaw: First and foremost, they are declarations of intent: We are ensuring a fully networked healthcare system, it says. Or: We are making Germany mobile with smart data. Or: We want digital education at every age. In addition, there are some projects that are certainly exemplary, but their impact hardly extends beyond the respective region.
How is the government supposed to digitally empower the economy if it cannot even manage to offer the required digital access for citizens in its own administration? And even if it does, the processes behind it are often still analogue, as the Federal Audit Office critically notes.
Freedom instead of specifications
The federal government is failing because, in typical fashion, it wants to shine with programmes and projects, instead of first ensuring that companies are given the freedom they need to go digital. The real requirements are combating over-bureaucratisation, over-regulation, rigid administrative law, excessive data protection, excessively long legal processes, and the wrong focus on tax incentives. Market forces can then ensure that companies go through digitalisation all on their own, under the productivity whip of competition. But spending money is simply more attractive than changing processes and regulations.
Now more than ever, Berlin should focus more on what it is directly responsible for: infrastructure and administration. Both need to be modernised. Perhaps companies could help politicians and bureaucrats with some advice.
