The collapse of the ‘traffic light’ coalition and the resulting snap federal elections have made it clear that confidence in politics – and, in particular, in the state’s ability to act and deliver – has declined amongst large sections of the population. Even during the short but intense election campaign, many political issues and challenges were placed on the agenda. One area that, despite its high relevance, was given insufficient attention in the public debate was the modernisation and digitalisation of the state. It is only with the coalition negotiations that this key issue is receiving greater attention and is now being reflected accordingly in the working groups of the parties involved in the coalition talks.

It is now up to the new government to take the right measures to set crucial reforms in motion and regain the trust of citizens. But what impetus is needed now – and, above all, how should it be implemented?

Against the backdrop of the snap federal elections, Wegweiser, in collaboration with the Hertie School Centre for Digital Governance, conducted the ‘Zukunftspanel-Spezial’ survey – a Germany-wide survey of representatives from the public sector, the business world and academia.
Among other things, the study examines:

• an assessment of the political parties’ manifestos in terms of the issues they address and their capacity for implementation, with a view to state modernisation and digitalisation

• the assessment of current reform proposals in terms of relevance and urgency,

• measures to improve efficiency,

• the use of key technologies to modernise the state.

The results of the survey make it possible to derive key administrative and governmental policy recommendations for the incoming government, which will help to answer the questions outlined above.