[Domestic Policy] A weeping businesswoman complains about Bureaucracy - Manufacturing Consent by an FDP politician

Siehe auch:
[Innenpolitik] Heulende Unternehmerin beschwert sich über Bürokratie - Meinungsmache einer FDP Politikerin

In Thuringia a businesswoman wept and complained about bureaucracy. This stunt was largely taken seriously and repeated. Upon closer inspection however it turns out that the businesswoman belongs to a failed political party and the narrative of excessive bureaucracy doesn't hold up under scrutiny.

Karlotta Gründobler managing director of the Thuringia-based company Eliog posted a video on social media that's been widely cited these days. Gründobler whines in the video while complaining about bureaucracy that's impacting her company. Specifically the complaint concerned an access road to the planned new factory. The responsible State Office for Construction and Transport took too long to greenlight the project but no information was provided about the company's obligation to provide all necessary informations. [1] [1,alt]

What isn't mentioned is that Gründobler is a FDP politician. It's striking that in a case involving criticism of bureaucracy the plaintiff is a member of the pro free-market FDP. This is particularly interesting given that the FDP failed to reach the 5% threshold in the last Thuringian state election and is no longer in the Thuringian state parliament. [2] [3, p.18]

Also not mentioned is that the Bureaucracy Cost Index has been declining for years. The Bureaucracy Cost Index from the Federal Statistical Office is intended to summarize the bureaucratic burden on companies in a single figure and plot it over time. This includes the filing of applications, the completion of notifications, labeling, reporting to statistics, and the provision of evidence. And this Bureaucracy Cost Index has decreased by approximately 6% overall since 2012. [4]

[4]

And what's even less mentioned is that the number of public sector employees has increased by less than the total number of employed persons since 2000. The total number of employed persons has increased by GHI% since 2000 from ABC to DEF in 2024. At the same time, the number of employed persons in the public sector has increased by only PQR% since 2000 from JKL to MNO in 2024. If administrative and government procedures take too long then the responsible authorities should be adequately staffed instead of lowering their own standards.

[5, NELN] [6]

[5, NELN] [6]

Src:
[1] Wirtschaft - Zwei Jahre warten auf Bescheid: Südthüringer Firma verzweifelt an Bürokratie 2025-09-24
https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/thueringen/sued-thueringen/hildburghausen/buerokratie-traditionsunternehmen-warten-wachstum-bau-100.html
https://www.mdr.de/video/mdr-videos/c/video-957650.html
[2] Kandidatenliste der FDP Seligenstadt für die Wahl zur Stadtverordnetenversammlung
https://fdp-seligenstadt.de/liste/
[3] FDP Seligenstadt Broschüre
https://fdp-seligenstadt.de/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/FDP_Broschuere_2021_V2_HP.pdf
[4] Bürokratiekostenindex
https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Staat/Buerokratiekosten/Erfuellungsaufwand/buerokratiekostenindex.html
[5] AMECO database
https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/economic-research-and-databases/economic-databases/ameco-database_en
[6] Beschäftigte im öffentlichen Dienst: Deutschland, Stichtag, Beschäftigungsbereich, Dienstverhältnis, Beschäftigungsumfang
https://www-genesis.destatis.de/datenbank/online/statistic/74111/table/74111-0002