My State of the Digital Union for Germany 2026

I’ve long argued that in terms of digital transformation, Germany is easily ten years behind — behind not just the state of the art, but behind its European peers as well. Not everything is bad, and I’m keenly aware that there are many, many people within the administration – at all levels! – who work tirelessly to change that. Alas, I think the existing structures set them up for failure rather than success. The most egregious example to me is government websites, which still (mostly) aim to turn existing analog processes into digital processes. This analog-to-digital transformation is famously the first step of a long journey towards real digital transformation, but it’s a baby step. More often than not, the hard work of digital transformation is organizational reform. Rethinking internal, cross-departmental and inter-organizational processes: How decisions are made, how they are coordinated between different departments, and between different organizations. A citizen needs a job to…