On 2 July 2026, the coalition under Friedrich Merz announces a reform package containing 34 individual measures. Tax reform, pension overhaul, red-tape reduction – the press conference and coalition committee agreement span hours of negotiation. What is missing: a single concrete timeline, no milestones, no escalation mechanism in case a measure stalls. The package contains intentions, not an architecture for delivery.
The Decision Without a Deadline
The reform package comprises, according to Reuters, 34 measures across six areas: taxes, pensions, labour market, bureaucracy, digitalisation and infrastructure. The coalition names no deadlines for individual steps, no milestones, no accountable officials with public mandates. The Economist asks in its analysis the same day whether the German government is finally becoming capable of action – and answers the question with scepticism: the agreement is remarkable, the delivery architecture non-existent.
A comparison: when the United Kingdom established the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit in 2001, every cabinet priority received a public roadmap with quarterly checkpoints. The Unit reported directly to the Prime Minister, could redirect resources and escalate blockages. The Unit's internal evaluations reported progress on many targets – not because the targets were more modest, but because delivery was systematically monitored. Germany decides on 34 measures and leaves delivery to departmental logic.
The Structure That Produces This Result
The gap between decision and delivery arises from three structural features. First: no unit with escalation rights. In Germany there is no equivalent to the Delivery Unit – no body permitted to address blockages in cabinet before they become delays. Second: no public milestones. A reform package without quarterly milestones generates no delivery pressure, neither internal nor external. Third: no accountability architecture. When 34 measures are distributed across six departments without a single person or unit liable for the overall result, delivery becomes a matter for negotiation.
The outcome is predictable: the coalition agrees on a package, the departments begin implementation according to their own priorities, and after 18 months it emerges that 12 measures have been delivered, 15 delayed and 7 abandoned. Nobody bears responsibility for the overall result because nobody had the mandate for it. A reform package without a delivery roadmap is a statement of intent, not government action.
Bauplan
The next step for a capable state: each of the 34 measures receives a public delivery roadmap with quarterly checkpoints. A small team in the Chancellery – for example, ten people – monitors progress, identifies blockages and escalates delays directly to cabinet. The team has no directive authority, but the mandate to make problems visible before they become delays.
The conditions are favourable: the coalition has agreed, the measures are decided, the departments have capacity. What is missing is the architecture for delivery. A quarterly checkpoint for each measure – publicly documented – generates delivery pressure and makes delays visible early. The British Delivery Unit demonstrated between 2001 and 2010 that this architecture works: internal evaluations reported progress on measurable priorities, not through harder pressure but through systematic monitoring and early escalation.
Feasibility is high, the pitfalls are known. Departments will resist because transparency creates accountability. The Chancellery will hesitate because a delivery unit concentrates power. But the alternative is the pattern of recent years: large packages, long negotiations, diffuse responsibility, disappointing results. The opportunity lies in the fact that the coalition currently wants to demonstrate capacity for action. A delivery roadmap with quarterly checkpoints would be proof that this time is different.
The 2026 reform package is a test: can the German state switch from decision to delivery, or does it remain agreement without enforcement? The answer lies not in the 34 measures but in the architecture that steers their implementation.
Band 3 "Bauplan" describes the mechanics of capable states – from the Delivery Unit to escalation architecture. Available at projekt-freistaat.de/bauplan.