Mr de Maizière, you are calling for major state reform. Why?
In Germany we talk a lot about who should do what, but we neglect the question of how it is done. But that is exactly our problem. No government can function successfully under the conditions under which it is now governed and administered. Lots of people try, but it doesn’t work that way. That’s why we not only have to work in the system, but also on the system. We are too slow, too complicated, too careless, too sectoral and too non-binding. We need to address that.
Aren’t they talking bad about Germany?
Our educational results are getting worse internationally. When it comes to digital administration, we are making too slow progress. We have no regulation for crises and national disasters – as one of the few democracies. We don’t know exactly how we can target the weaker social third of society with subsidies. We are really falling behind in the planning and permitting processes. If the testing and planning of the Fehmarnbelt crossing in Denmark is five times faster than in Germany, then that is also an international problem.
The traffic light government has decided to tackle these construction sites. How do you rate the government’s efforts?
The plans for improving energy security are correct in principle. The extended protection of critical infrastructure, as addressed by Federal Interior Minister Faeser, is just as correct as her proposal to centralize cyber defense. The acceleration measures are half correct because they only have a sectoral effect and slow down the rest of the process. We need a more systematic approach. If you like: an architecture for the modernization of the state order. The last reorganization, the second federalism reform, was 14 years ago.
A central aspect of your proposal is a separate regime for the crisis. How should that look?
We have to get used to the fact that crises are part of normality, including political normality. Crises need special rules. We have such regulations in some sectors, for example recently in the Infection Protection Act. My proposal is to create abstract general rules for a state of emergency. Triggers can be different crisis scenarios that affect the security of Germany across borders: large movements of refugees, an attack on an IT infrastructure, a cyber attack, national natural disasters.
Who should determine the state of emergency?
The Bundestag. You could ask for a qualified majority for that, the chancellor majority for my sake. The Bundestag also decides which rules are to be overridden and for how long.
Then what should happen?
It is particularly important that decision-making responsibilities change when the state of emergency is declared. It is unacceptable that every federal state or municipality makes its own decisions in the event of a national disaster. That is why we need a cross-level crisis management team from the federal, state and local governments. Everything is discussed, decided and implemented there.
But our system basically worked well during the pandemic.
#Thomas #Maizière #slow #careless