The boundaries of the nation state
The industry association Bitkom also sees structural obstacles to digitalization.
Bitkom Managing Director Bernhard Rohleder comments on the Federal Government's final legislative report "Digital Agenda 2014-2017":
"The first digital government program for Germany is a model for success.
The Digital Agenda must be updated in the coming legislative period and given even more ambitious targets.
Over the past three years, the German government has made good progress in implementing the Digital Agenda. Only four percent of the original 121 individual measures have not yet been implemented.
That is a remarkable result. However, there is still room for improvement overall, for example in the digitalization of administration, the modernization of the education system and the digital transformation of the economy. We need to make faster and better progress here."
Bitkom also sees structural obstacles to digitalization.
"The Digital Agenda has shown the limits of national government action in a state that is integrated into Europe and has a strongly federal structure internally. The federal government has little or no responsibility in key areas of digital policy: Education, media, administration, even internal security. We are pursuing a digital parochial policy in Germany and the slowest one sets the pace."
With a view to the upcoming Bundestag elections, Rohleder says:
"We cannot rest on our laurels. The elections must not become a brake on the digital transformation. We need a new digital agenda - and we have to take the federal states, cities and municipalities with us.
The next Digital Agenda must draw up a program for the whole of Germany and weave the digital patchwork together."
DE
EN
ES
FR
