The traffic light turns green for German digitalization

September 30, 2021

The traffic light turns green for German digitalization

Sjoerd Bakker
September 30, 2021

The traffic light turns green for German digitalization

Sjoerd Bakker
September 30, 2021

The traffic light turns green for German digitalization

September 30, 2021

Following Sunday’s elections, the greens and liberals are seen as kingmakers for the coming German government. Together they can decide whether to support a traffic light coalition with the Social Democrats, or a ‘Jamaica’ coalition with the Christian Democrats. While these two parties have many differences between them, e.g. on public spending, tax cuts and climate change, they do seem to agree on the need for Germany to catch up in terms of digitalization.Germany is lagging behind the rest of Europe in terms of broadband connections, the use of digital services and digitalization of its industry and government. Fixing this situation, through public investments and more favorable regulations, should a be top priority for the new government. The greens and liberals could use such a plan to divert some attention away from issues that are politically more sensitive.As citizens are still weary of information technology in general and e-government especially, cultural change should also be part of the ambition. From that perspective, it would be promising for the digital future of Germany if the deeply conservative CDU is left out of the coalition.

Burning questions:
  • How would a traffic light coalition go about public investments in the digital infrastructure, given the FDP’s fiscal conservatism?
  • Can and will sustainability be part of Germany’s digital agenda in terms of energy use of data centers, or the use of data and intelligence for sustainable solutions?
  • How can the government overcome Germany’s distrust in information technology?
About the author(s)
Sjoerd Bakker frequently writes about the power and danger of digital technology, as well as sustainability in both technological and institutional innovation. At the think tank, he is mainly involved in research and consultancy projects for clients, and strategic and thematic research for sister company Dasym.
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