## Notes from 13 April 2025 [[2025-04-12|← Previous note]] ┃ [[2025-04-14|Next note →]] This Sunday, I read two interesting articles addressing the current debate on government reform in Germany: “[How state modernization can succeed](https://www.capital.de/wirtschaft-politik/digitalministerium--wie-die-staatsmodernisierung-gelingen-kann-35630074.html)” by Tiaji Sio ([[ReForm (ProjectTogether)]]) and “[Government-as-Software: A Leapfrogging Opportunity for State Modernization](https://www.govtechintelhub.org/case-study-details/government-as-software:-a-leapfrogging-opportunity-for-state-modernization/aJYTG0000000W4j4AE)” by Lars Zimmermann ([[GovTech Campus Germany]]). Both authors emphasize that personnel policy is equally as crucial as technology in government reform, a point clearly reflected in Sio’s call for a cross-government HR strategy under a new Ministry of State Reform, and Zimmermann’s observation that “implementing a software-defined government is as much a people challenge as it is a technology challenge.” This is a welcome shift from the overly tech-focused public debate I've seen since the snap election. Both texts bring forward some interesting ideas, with Zimmermann especially noting there’s much to learn from international examples. What I still miss, though, is more explicit discussion about the political aspect. Reform isn’t just about technology or reorganizing administrative structures, it’s fundamentally a political process that comes before any talk of implementation. While change isn’t always a zero-sum game, disrupting the status quo does tend to leave someone losing out. It would be helpful if both articles went deeper into handling those inevitable trade-offs, since meaningful reform depends on understanding who stands to gain, who stands to lose, and why some interests will push back. **PS**: I just found out that five months after her appointment in October 2024, Jutta Horstmann [was dismissed](https://www.behoerden-spiegel.de/2025/04/11/zendis-chefin-jutta-horstmann-gekuendigt/) as CEO of the [[Zentrum für Digitale Souveränität (ZenDiS)]]. This agency was set up to champion open source solutions in Germany’s public sector, yet the Ministry of the Interior hasn’t provided a reason for her removal—so we don’t know if it was performance-related, a policy clash, or something else entirely. It also highlights the lack of a clear leadership framework for agencies operating outside the core of government (there’s no information about the procedures for Ms. Horstmann’s dismissal, no clarity on how the next CEO will be chosen, and no plan to prevent another short-term leadership scenario).