ZEW Economist Irene Bertschek on the Coalition Negotiations

According to a report in the Handelsblatt, the so-called traffic light coalition partners SPD, FDP and the Greens, named after the traditional colours of the parties, have agreed not to create a digital ministry. Professor Irene Bertschek, head of the ZEW Research Department “Digital Economy”, has commented on that matter:

“It is very regrettable that the traffic light coalition wants to refrain from establishing a digital ministry. It is imperative that the topic of digitisation is now given the necessary priority in order to catch up on long-standing shortfalls, for example in terms of fast internet and the provision of digital public services. The argument that setting up a digital ministry would be too costly and time-consuming shows exactly what the problem has been in recent years: Digitalisation is costly and time-consuming, yes! This is precisely why enormous efforts and resources are needed to finally meet the goals that have been set, some of which are anchored in law, and to once again play a leading role internationally. We can only hope that digitalisation does not end up being a cross-sectional task for which no one really feels responsible.”