Karsten Wildberger: This man becomes Merz ‘Digital Minister

He is known as a manager, in the Berlin political business he is now a senior apprentice: Karsten Wildberger, born in 1969, received her doctorate. Wildberger has a reputation as a successful creator: Since he took over the management of the Media Market Saturn Group in 2021, the electronics retailer has been going uphill again despite Amazon and Temu. Now he should become Minister of Digitization and State Modernization under Chancellor Friedrich Merz.

Wildberger has renovated the Media-Markt Saturn chain, which used to be particularly noticeable with pithy advertising slogans and is now economically well again. A merit that is particularly attributed to Wildberger. And also previously Wildberger gained many experiences at the Eon energy group, with telecommunications providers and Boston Consulting, which leads the manager around the world and now to political Berlin.

So far, the 55-year-old is a blank sheet. In the past few weeks, his name has not been mentioned by any of the many alleged insiders of the political company.

The trained physicist and long-time manager has been involved in the so-called Economic Council of the CDU for eight years-especially in Merz ‘home state North Rhine-Westphalia. And until 2021, Merz was Vice President of the Economic Council, the CDU-related body, which he did not leave from federal politics even after his long-term withdrawal. His successor: Karsten Wildberger. Merz also apparently relies in digitization that he knows well.

But what works in the private sector is far from guaranteed in politics. The new office will be the greatest task of his professional life for Wildberger. Because the challenge of finally beating up the Gordian node in administrative digitization is huge. Since Thomas de Maizière, Interior Minister has bitten their teeth on it, billions of euros from the federal budget have been sunk into solutions that are only partially functioning.

For decades, the federal government, the states and municipalities could not agree on basic questions. The federal government is not responsible for a lot in the administration – which politicians are reluctant to encounter. Germany’s administrative digitization is determined. Which is why a new regulation is now also provided for in the new coalition agreement: more power for the federal government should do it.

However, this can hardly be achieved without political experience, after all, the powerful state bosses have to give part of their responsibility. And even if this happens, the pitfalls of technology remain: unlike a large corporation, the state cannot simply assign an order to a service provider to implement a project. A ministry, even a newly founded, must adhere to the complicated rules of the Game of the Administrative Right.

At the same time, digital politics has received much more weight than before: since Donald Trump has been back in the White House, it has been tough geopolitics. If Trump wants, he can pull the digital plug to his allies. And its Vice President JD Vance makes no secret of the fact that the United States has little inhibitions to enforce its interests in digital policy with hard bandages. Europe, on the other hand, is still looking for its own role – and has to ask: How can the dependence on the USA and China be reduced at the same time?

It is still unclear whether Wildberger will have a lot to say here – because the responsibilities in the future federal government have not yet been finally clarified. That he jumps into the cold water here as a newcomer on the political stage: brave.

So that Wildberger does not go down in this double Ascension Command, Friedrich Merz has put two experienced members of the Bundestag with Philipp Amthor and Thomas Jarzombek at his side: they should help him with administrative modernization and digital policy. And compensate for what Wildberger is missing: Experience in Berlin politics. Because it will be important – just like on the support of Friedrich Merz if it gets tough in terms of content.

This is exactly what shouldn’t be long in coming.