The new citizen app: Wildberger's master plan for Germany's administration

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There is a bit of a spirit of optimism in Berlin's Basecamp as Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger (CDU) takes the stage. The venue, where politics and the digital scene traditionally meet for the “UdL Digital Talk,” is fully occupied on Thursday evening. Under the title “Germany's Digitalization – Why Not Just Do It?” the discussion is to explore why the republic so often gets stuck in the quicksand of bureaucracy when it comes to modernization. Wildberger, who received the call from “Blue” about a year ago and, after ten days of consideration, swapped the CEO position of a DAX group for the ministerial office, appears agile. He has come to explain how he intends to activate the country's “implementation muscle.”

“We have a lot of catching up to do,” Wildberger admits. Germany may understand digitalization at its core. But it lacks the ability to bring solutions to a wider audience. The problem is the path from law to reality. It becomes particularly complex in the cooperation between federal, state, and the approximately 11,000 municipalities. “I also scream sometimes when I'm alone, but I recover quickly,” he confesses with a smile. With major projects, he wants to build up the lost muscle: speed.

Germany Stack as a Foundation

The heart of his strategy is the Germany Stack. Wildberger speaks passionately about this target vision, which is intended to create a uniform digital infrastructure for the administration. It's about building a foundation on which various services can be built, more automated, and accessible to hundreds, even thousands of partners. “The system is open, anyone can join. Isn't that great?” he exclaims to the audience. The fact that there is no finished end product yet doesn't bother him. First, a vision is needed to rally people behind it. Now, however, the collaborators must deliver to avoid losing credibility.

An example of the new philosophy is to be the Germany App. The fact that the digital department is relying on heavyweights SAP and Deutsche Telekom for the development of the prototype is causing discussions in the audience and the startup scene. Wildberger defends the decision. It's about using companies that have already proven they can scale. The app is intended to be more than a digital shop window. It is designed as a one-stop shop for government services – from child benefit applications to registering a change of address. An AI-based assistant is intended to help find and process documents and securely send them back to the authorities via a wallet solution.

Size vs. Startup Spirit: A Difficult Balancing Act

The 56-year-old emphasizes that the architecture is designed to be modular and open from the start. “We develop up to a stopping point, at which point there will be a tender,” he explains the process. He explicitly wants to involve start-ups but ultimately must be judged on whether the system works in practice. He is aware that there are animosities. In a democracy, one must discuss, but time is pressing. He demands: “What we have set in motion is not enough in these times. We have to step it up.”

Artificial intelligence is to be a lever for the modernization push. Wildberger sees the potential to accelerate the approximately 20,000 different approval procedures in Germany. Especially with complex infrastructure projects such as the construction of energy grids or roads, the machine can take over the completeness and compatibility checks. The regulations will then be processed automatically like a cooking recipe. As early as the summer, the Federal Network Agency wants to demonstrate how this works in practice in the construction of power lines. Although a human will always review it in the end, the efficiency gains are enormous.

Open-Source and Digital Sovereignty

Freely available source code also plays an important role in the discussion. Wildberger praises pioneers like Schleswig-Holstein and refers to the Center for Digital Sovereignty of Public Administration (Zendis). His department is currently investigating how such organizations can be set up to be truly marketable. His vision: an ecosystem for e-government based on open standards, in which cloud providers and AI unicorns also find their place. He wants to strengthen the “digitalization momentum” by creating a real connection platform for German companies at the next Digital Summit and establishing an agentic AI hub. This way, small and medium-sized enterprises are to benefit from the technology without the data “running away.”

Entrepreneur Fränzi Kühne reminds that this alone is not enough. “Most medium-sized companies have technology from the 80s or 90s,” she points out. A clear picture from above is needed, a vision that is also conveyed by the Chancellor, to reduce fears. Digitalization is often associated with considerable resistance to change. “You have to be incredibly resilient,” says the author. She calls for flagship projects that make digitalization visible to citizens: “Ah, that's digitalization.”

Disruption from Below

Wildberger picks up the ball. He is aware of the concerns that AI, for example, triggers among programmers, where in the future perhaps 95 percent of the code could be generated by machines. “The countries that master AI will, likely, achieve significantly more economic growth,” he warns against stagnation. Young, new companies must be given much more attention, because disruption comes from below. Names like DeepL or Black Forest Labs show that Germany has a lot to offer here.

In the end, Wildberger becomes almost philosophical: He believes in the creative power of people and personal responsibility. Society must create more freedoms and also “celebrate” people who achieve something, instead of immediately criticizing every new project. “In a democracy, the discussion sometimes becomes tough and brutal,” he says, referring to public criticism. Then the motto must be: “Head down and move forward.”

His promise for the next three years: More fiber optic cables in homes, no more dead spots, and a EUDI Wallet that goes live on January 2, 2027, and hopefully finds millions of users. It is an ambitious roadmap for a man who has set out to make the state fit for the 21st century.

(dahe)