Commentary on the digital summit: No one wants to be blamed
The digital summit takes stock of the work of the German government and the summit itself. There is still room for improvement in both areas, says Falk Steiner.
German Banderia at the top
Hurray for apex digitalism
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(Image: fdecomite "German Flag" CC BY 2.0 / edited by heise online)
Summit, that sounds important. Like decisions, relevance, perhaps even expertise. But no decisions are made at the digital summit, and hardly any are announced. Rarely are there more than declarations of intent – and these are known to have their pitfalls.
To this day, the summit has not completely moved away from its original purpose: an event of the IT industry and the German government. This would not automatically be a bad thing, but it is a format in which there is little discussion – and the federal government tries to present itself in a positive light without criticism. One example: On the first day, Bitkom boss Ralf Wintergerst offered to draw up a list of what the German IT sector could deliver for greater digital sovereignty. The Chancellor did not reject this as insubordinate lobbying, but asked for it to be sent to him. Without a hint of irony.
The poor economic data is bringing the coalition partners ever closer to the wishes of the business community. Given the circumstances, criticism of their demands can hardly be heard any more.
In fact, Digital Minister Volker Wissing (FDP) is right when he warns against badmouthing the digital location. An approach that he shares with Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). And yes, some points of the federal government's digital strategy have now been completed. Even the expansion of fiber optics is progressing. But these goals are self-imposed, and some were very low-risk, such as the expansion of mobile communications. Others are rather absurd, such as Wissing's figure on fiber optics in the streets. Achieving at least a good proportion of one's own targets after 75 percent of the government's term should actually be a matter of course. In Frankfurt, the government wanted to be praised for this.
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Demanding a culture of failure without admitting failure itself
Many of the major projects have not actually been implemented or have problems; fundamental decisions have yet to be made. Interior Minister Nancy Faeser is now clearly shying away from digitalization issues; in Frankfurt, the first squad left any form of self-criticism to smaller calibres. Not a word from the Vice-Chancellor or the Chancellor on the failure of the Intel project in Magdeburg, but sovereignty was still a popular topic of discussion. And the problems with Wolfspeed did not exist at the summit either.
The annual calls to establish a culture of failure among start-ups clash with the reality in which politicians tend to ignore their failures. Even if some BMI representatives also admit issues on stage, for example in the digitization of administration: that the digitization of administration with the facade renovation called the Online Access Act always had to remain half-baked, that a reform of federalism would be almost mandatory for full digitization – such thoughts are almost only mentioned in side conversations at digital summits. Small buns are preferred to be baked on stage.
Regulators criticize regulatory problems
What was evident at the digital summit in Frankfurt were above all the hectic spots of a cabinet in difficult times. Time and again, regulation is said to be somehow to blame. Who did it? Artificial intelligence (AI) should now be introduced as quickly and comprehensively as possible, and certainly not with any special German approaches. As if it wasn't the same German government that helped negotiate the AI regulation.
And there is an urgent need to talk about data protection supervisory authorities, say the Greens in particular, such as Economics Minister Robert Habeck and Startup Commissioner Anna Christmann. As if it wasn't the FDP and the Greens who have always stood up for strong data protection. And a legislative proposal would have to be made by the SPD-led Ministry of the Interior anyway. So it's a transparent spectacle: everyone else is to blame for the situation – we're just the federal government, which is now really finally getting to grips with it.
Competence problems
Is the necessary competence now available? Doubts are justified when, for example, Parliamentary State Secretary Daniela Kluckert (FDP) suddenly talks about an issue of the Digital Markets Act in a panel on the Digital Services Act on Monday. And then on Tuesday does not know what mobile communications on trains could be good for apart from passengers. And in other places, too, not all government representatives were so well versed in the topics that there were no lingering doubts in the audience.
But there were also demonstrations of competence on the second day. While the German discussion is often limited to Germany, Europe and the transatlantic relationship or fear of Chinese actors, others also play an important role. Chuen Hong Lew from Singapore's Information and Media Authority emphasized that he was only speaking for a small country. But one that is also involved internationally for this very reason, for example in the United Nations. Singapore plays a relevant role in digital policy in many ways, including as a supplier of semiconductors.
While Europe is discussing its AI regulation, Sushil Pal from the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology was able to report on approaches being taken there. The world's most populous country sees itself as an up-and-coming IT nation with strong interests of its own, and by no means in the position in which some German companies see it: as a cheap call center supplier and data provider for the West.
Members of parliament provide liveliness
One bright spot on the second day was the panel of members of the Bundestag who had found their way to Frankfurt. Although the members of the "traffic light" parliamentary groups bravely defended the government's positions, criticism was finally voiced: It doesn't help if people always pretend that everything is fine, said Anke Domscheit-Berg, member of parliament for the Left Party. She calculated how few of the one billion euro IT contracts awarded by the German government actually go towards genuine open source development, despite declarations of sovereignty. Or why "Homes Passed" is nonsensical as a measure of success – because these are only theoretical connectivity options. Ronja Kemmer (CDU) also took the opportunity to counter the "It's not all that wild" from the government representatives of the traffic light party. It was just a shame that representatives of the German IT industry were less interested in this than the ministers the day before.
The digital summit would benefit from emancipating itself further from a showcase and promoting serious discussions. Germany, said SPD MP Armand Zorn on the second day of the summit, is culturally particularly good at discussing everything down to the smallest detail.
Next stop: Stuttgart
The next opportunity will come in just a few months: The next digital summit is scheduled to take place in April to allow sufficient time for the upcoming federal elections. The Green-led Federal Ministry of Economics will be in charge of the event, which will take place in Baden-WĂĽrttemberg, governed by Green Minister President Winfried Kretschmann. It is unlikely that the showcase of well-intentioned declarations of intent will be any more self-critical there.
(mho)
