Probably no digital ministry for Germany

For the start-up association, the creation of a digital ministry is long overdue. Now it is becoming clear that there will not be one even with a traffic light coalition.

They wanted a new dawn for Germany, but a digital ministry is apparently not part of it: As the Handelsblatt with reference to confidential persons from the FDP environment reports, the liberals withdraw the demand for a separate ministry for digital affairs. The reason given is the organisational and personnel effort that would "rather slow down than push the efficiency and speed in matters of digitalisation", as the Handelsblatt writes.

This means that the topic will remain the preserve of the various ministries: For start-ups, this means that e-mobility will be determined by the Ministry of Transport, e-health will be subject to the Ministry of Health and the expansion of the network will be regulated by the Ministry of Economics. A clear responsibility with its own agenda will probably not exist with the next government. What would be possible, however, according to information from the Handelsblatt, would be to tie the responsibility for digital more closely to another ministry, while not cutting back too much on the competencies of the other ministries in their specialist areas. There could also be a digital minister of state.

The digital ministry was above all the wish of the FDP, which also had the demand for it in its election manifesto. Christian Lindner, head of the Liberals, had also repeatedly stressed during the election campaign how important such a ministry would be. Christian Miele, chairman of the Federal Association of German Start-ups, also called for such an authority.