"There isn't just one chainsaw": Digital Minister Wildberger on the fight against bureaucracy

The German government has approved a relief package and sees it as a huge step towards reducing bureaucracy. Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger spoke with Verena Pausder about it, who primarily wanted to know: When will we see progress?

The Federal Government's so-called "Relief Cabinet" met today at the Federal Ministry for Digital Affairs and Public Sector Modernization. The result was a 50-point plan to combat bureaucracy, increase efficiency, and reduce excessive paperwork. The measures are expected to generate at least €100 million in savings – for citizens, businesses, and government agencies alike.

Specifically, the energy efficiency law, occupational safety regulations, and certain provisions of construction contract law are to be simplified. "The government now has a concrete plan for long-term bureaucracy reduction," said Federal Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger.

Last night, the minister spoke about the upcoming decisions at an event hosted by the Startup Association. Association head Verena Pausder, who interviewed Wildberger for almost an hour, wanted to know exactly how this relief cabinet would operate. She imagined representatives from all ministries would come together with lists of things that could be eliminated: complicated processes, unnecessary regulations, excessive overhead. And then the cuts would be made.

That's roughly how it works, Wildberger explained. But in the end, it was a bit more complicated than that.

In fact, this was precisely the theme that ran through the conversation between the minister and the head of the startup association – the desire to simply do it and, above all, to really do it on the one hand, and being involved in complicated political structures on the other.

Wildberger said he could absolutely understand why people were asking: Where is the much-talked-about reduction of bureaucracy? When will we finally see progress? However, he added: "There is no single hammer or chainsaw that will solve the problem."

"It's rarely a lack of will that fails us, it's a lack of action." Wildberger had said this three weeks ago in a speech before the German Bundestag. And perhaps a little bit a lack of desire, he added yesterday evening at the Delta Campus in Berlin.

When innovations are discussed in this country, everything is often viewed negatively. People say the train has left the station, and that we're lagging behind. "And when I say something positive, they say: He's just trying to sugarcoat it – sorry, but we have a mentality problem," Wildberger told Pausder.

He tried to list projects where progress was already visible. These included company formation in 24 hours, automation of approval processes such as parental leave applications, and the EUDI wallet, which is expected to be available by early 2027 and will allow identity cards and driver's licenses to be managed digitally on mobile phones.

He was very open and clearly acknowledged weaknesses and difficulties: The electronic ID card, which has been around for years, is "rubbish" in terms of user experience, the minister said. The activation process alone took him two hours, during which he had to search for the PIN.

This needs to be better and it can be done better, Wildberger thought: "I hope that we will succeed in igniting a dynamic, especially myself with the younger companies," he said to an audience consisting mainly of startup founders.

Germany has excellent prerequisites for driving innovation forward. It's simply a matter of mentality, a mindset, the minister said. More people need to participate and be willing. "If we can awaken this sleeping giant, things will really take off."