No Digital State Without Digital Identity: Where Progress Has Stalled

Digital identity constitutes the foundational infrastructure of a functional digital state. While the Czech Republic possesses a technically sound solution, its utilization remains limited, fragmented, and contingent upon the silos of individual ministries. The bottleneck lies not in the technology itself, but in decision-making, accountability, and the capacity to drive change across the entire public administration.

The state has thus far failed to systematically integrate digital identity with key agendas in a way that would render it a genuine tool for streamlining processes for citizens and businesses alike. Against the backdrop of the new government and the ongoing implementation of European security and data protection rules, it is becoming evident that without a clear political mandate, digital identity will remain a mere add-on rather than the backbone of the digital state.

The debate will therefore focus on exactly where the digitalization process has stalled, who bears responsibility for this stagnation, and what political and institutional measures are required to ensure that digital identity becomes the true cornerstone of a functioning digital public administration.

‍