Last year, the Hessian state government suffered a series of sometimes embarrassing defeats in different courts.
They related to wind power, Corona regulations, cooperation with the Islamic religious community Ditib, digital distance learning in schools, the special fund for financial management of the pandemic, and civil servants' salaries.
The new year begins the way the old one ended.
A court has just reprimanded the consumer protection minister Priska Hinz (Die Grünen) for her approach to the food scandal surrounding the sausage manufacturer Wilke.
Even those who do not share the still widespread view that judges and public prosecutors are infallible, unlike other professional groups, are alarmed. In a short period of time, the state government had to be accused of breaching the constitution in two cases. Again and again, courts have criticized laws and ordinances so decisively that the quality of state action is called into question. In addition, there is the corruption scandal in the Hessian public prosecutor's office.
Even a year and a half after the former partner of the main suspect gave the decisive clue, it is still not foreseeable when charges will be brought.
The fact that the position at the head of the Attorney General's office was vacant for more than a year and a half after the incumbent's foreseeable retirement is a side note, but it is part of the devastating overall picture.
Hesse has better positioned police
This is how trust in the state is lost.
Against this background, the black-green coalition should not ignore the fact that court presidents are now warning of the system being overloaded.
The minister responsible, Eva Kühne-Hörmann, recalls an earlier job creation program that the judiciary also acknowledged with gratitude.
It seems as if the Union politician understood the seriousness of the situation.
But apparently she has not yet been able to assert herself in the cabinet, recognizing that the country must create more positions for judges and public prosecutors if people's trust in the state is not to be lost entirely.
The country has better organized its police force.
However, this will only lead to success if there are enough public prosecutors and judges.
The coalition, which wanted to incur debts in the gigantic amount of twelve billion euros because of the pandemic, must be clear before the budget is passed what it is worth to them that the rule of law in Hesse will continue to function in the future.