Why do authorities have such a hard time with change?
Germany's public administration is known for dullness and a lot of paperwork. Appointments are hard to get, administrative procedures take a long time, and little is digitised.
The negative impression is scientifically proven. In 2017, politics passed the so-called Online Access Act (Onlinezugangsgesetz, OZG for short). Simple and user-friendly online procedures should make dealing with government agencies easier and should become a central lever for reducing bureaucracy. By the end of 2022, 575 defined administrative services should be uniformly digitised nationwide. Only 105 made it.
Why do authorities have such a hard time with change?
Because we all struggle with change. We tend to maintain the status quo. We only change when we have to. When for example, competition forces us. When change brings an advantage.
Authorities need not fear competition. What they offer, no one else offers. They are monopolists.
So there is no need for change.
But sometimes they have to move anyway. When public displeasure becomes too strong. Then the people elect politicians who promise to modernise the administration. Then politicians try to change authorities. With more or less success. In the case of Germany, rather less. The level of suffering does not seem to be significant enough.
Recently there were elections here in the state of Berlin. The Free Democratic Party (Freie Demokratische Partei; FDP for short) had gone into the election campaign with a single promise: modernising the administration. They got so few votes that they didn't even make it into parliament.
Onwards,
The Strolling Economist