Just 40% of Europeans believe that their government has the will to develop digitalization. This figure is low in comparison with the situation in India (82%) and the US (57%), as the Tech Divide study conducted by the Vodafone Institute shows. The confidence of Germans in their government is also just marginally higher than the European average. Germans cite investment in education, digitalization, infrastructure and support for SMEs as the main measures the government needs to take. 57% of Germans think their government should cooperate with IT specialists or companies in order to expand their digital competencies.

A survey by software company VMWare conducted in fall 2018 also indicates limited confidence in the German government. More than half of respondents said that companies and governments do not communicate transparently enough about the technologies they are using and how they are using them. There is also little faith in governments when it comes to data protection: On average, just 31% of those surveyed in Europe believe that their country’s government protects their data.