The Federal Government's options for making a difference in the area of ​​"civil protection" - a somewhat unfortunate mix of civil protection and disaster control - are limited.

The "lever" for this could be civil protection, for which the federal government is responsible in the event of war, in contrast to civil protection, which the states regulate sensibly.

The coalition, as the current hour to commemorate the flood disaster has already shown, has apparently become wary of actually wanting to expand the Federal Office for Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance into a "central office".

As in the case of cyber security, the Basic Law would have to be changed for this.

There is justified resistance to this from the federal states and even more so from the municipalities.

Although there was gross misconduct to be lamented in the Ahr Valley, the subsidiary construction of hazard prevention remains highly effective.

On the spot, those responsible should know best what to do.

Centralism is rampant in the coalition

Centralist know-it-alls, as is widespread in the coalition, are a torment for the movers and shakers.

These are usually the district administrators, who in turn have to be able to rely on the state level.

That was not the case in the Ahr Valley either.

This double failure reflexively brought the federal government onto the scene as a supposed all-rounder.

So it is definitely a matter of “debates on responsibility”, which Interior Minister Nancy Faeser criticized in the Bundestag, but which she cannot avoid when it comes to what is crucial – responsibility.

Desire for authority and direction

An additional 250 positions at the federal level will help to ensure that “coordination” by the Federal Office very quickly leads to desire for authority and instructions.

The guidelines of Faeser's strategy also point in this direction.

It would make more sense if the federal government concentrated on prevention and warning and supported the states and municipalities in motivating and financing volunteers.

Despite regular expressions of gratitude, shockingly little is said about them.