Overview
- Strauß’s letter to Chancellor Friedrich Merz, dated April 14, surfaced Friday in reports and asks for Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger’s removal while offering to lead the ministry for up to one year.
- He warned Merz that he “won’t be chancellor for long” if progress lags and said Wildberger could “sell computers but not develop them,” calling the minister’s first‑year record catastrophic.
- He pitched a one‑year Crash Program with fingerprint checks in public healthcare to curb card misuse, blockchain to track VAT and block fraud, and new office tools to speed permits, claiming savings of €150–250 billion a year.
- Following Thursday’s first‑anniversary visit to the Digital Ministry, Merz publicly thanked Wildberger for moving from business into politics and said he is now indispensable in the government.
- The government points to an existing modernization plan of about 80 measures, including digital car registration, AI tools for drafting laws, and upcoming projects like a Germany app and a digital wallet.