In my experience it’s a cultural problem in Germany. Everything has to be done methodically, even if the method adds a disproportionate amount of friction. Often, the purported benefits are not even there. The thoroughness is full of holes, the diligence never done, the follow-ups never happening.

It leads to situations where you need a certificate from your landlord that you take to the certified locksmith that your landlord contracted and show a piece of ID to order a key double that arrives 3 business days later at a cost of 60€. A smart German knows that there’s a locksmith in the basement of a nearby shopping mall that will gladly duplicate any key without a fuss, but even then the price is inflated by the authorised locksmiths.

I document German bureaucracy for immigrants. Everything is like this. Every time I think “it can’t really be this ridiculous, I’m being uncharitable”, a colleague has a story that confirms that the truth is even more absurd.

It’s funny until you realise the cost it has for society at large. All the wasted labour, all the bottlenecks, and little to show for it.