"Ex-Mayor of Mannheim, Peter Kurz, advocates for enhancing reforms to boost policy efficiency"

In the face of global challenges, the strength of municipal self-government has been particularly evident. During the COVID-19 pandemic, municipalities showed their resilience by accommodating refugees, multiplying the personnel of the health department, and offering decentralized vaccination services. This demonstrates the importance of giving cities and municipalities the freedom to respond to global challenges effectively.

The loss of trust in politics globally and nationally can be attributed to several developments. Economic success models reaching their limits and creating inequality, traditional politics reacting with "business as usual" and reinforcing party logics, and deliberate attacks on democracy by authoritarian politics have all contributed to this erosion of trust.

To address these issues, there is a need for reorganizing financial relationships. The advocate suggests more direct shares of taxes and lump-sum allocations for defined areas of action. In the area of education and care, communities should be free to provide the service, but resource allocation should be based on social data.

Integrating municipalities in national and international decision-making processes can make politics more consensus-oriented, effective, and adaptable. This can be achieved by involving experienced people from local practice at the beginning of a legislative process and incorporating local feedback and adjustment in implementation and outcome assessments.

Examples of successful integration of municipalities in national and international decision-making processes abound. LOOP CITY in Denmark is a notable example, where ten municipalities around Copenhagen cooperated with the Capital Region and the Danish Business Authority to construct a light rail system connecting their areas. This regional project, backed by about EUR 4.5 billion in private investment, supports urban development, job creation, and improved livability by coordinating policy and infrastructure decisions across multiple municipalities and national actors.

Smart City Utility-Municipal Partnerships also show the potential of collaboration. Cities and utilities have integrated real-time data ecosystems to share information and coordinate responses to urban challenges, breaking down silos and creating unified operational and strategic collaboration.

Digital tools for resident engagement and asset management are another area where municipalities are making strides. Platforms like Atlas enable municipalities to gather location-specific feedback from residents, directly tying community input into municipal planning and service decisions. APIs like Citywide connect municipal systems, allowing integrated asset management and operations that enhance decision-making efficiency.

Participation can improve results and achieve goals more easily, provided that the chosen processes fit the problem and are professionally managed. Poorly managed participation can do more harm than good. E-participation and feedback are possibilities for intensifying the dialogue between citizens and local politics. AI can also improve control, accelerate application processing, and decisions, and increase efficiency in local politics.

Global networks of cities and communities have broad and often unanimously supported concepts for issues such as climate, species protection, poverty reduction, hunger, and urban security. However, in the USA, figures like Elon Musk are dismantling the effectiveness of the state in various areas and aiming to build an illiberal democracy, which is not related to bureaucracy reduction.

The visible efforts to reduce bureaucracy in Baden-Württemberg were made possible due to community initiatives and involvement. The municipality, particularly important for democracy due to its proximity to the people, orientation towards action, openness to change, and strong cooperation with citizens and the economy, plays a crucial role in this democratization process. Sustainable answers to these problems lie in more rationality and seriousness, rather than adopting the theses of authoritarians.

"Ex-Mayor of Mannheim, Peter Kurz, advocates for enhancing reforms to boost policy efficiency"