Jörg Bogumil, an expert in administration, criticizes the plans of the new federal government to reduce a certain percentage of jobs in the public service. According to Bogumil, these plans are nonsensical and populist, adding that the issue is not that there are too many people working in the public sector. The coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD commits them to reducing the number of jobs in the ministry and Bundestag administrations, as well as subordinate agencies, by at least eight percent by 2029. Additionally, the first cabinet meeting decided to reduce the number of federal commissioners by about half.
Bogumil identifies three major problems with the German bureaucracy: too many rules, overly complicated regulations and a lack of flexibility in their application. He also criticizes the dominance of lawyers in the German administration, who prioritize ensuring legal safety over innovative solutions. He believes that the newly established Ministry for Digitalization and State Modernization, led by Karsten Wildberger, is a positive step towards reducing bureaucracy. However, he doubts that Wildberger will be successful without sufficient support from the Chancellor’s office.