What you say probably relates to other countries in Europe too. But i want to ask something specific, if you know.
Who is going to keep the lights on, repair the power cable, emergency shelters, the soup kitchen etc? The state administration or some private company? Was it always like that?
Everything that responded quickly was private: charities, churches, volunteer fire fighters, sports clubs, restaurants and cafes, neighbors helping neighbors, etc.
But the residents start to wonder:
Why are we paying taxes, if the state isn't there, when we need them?
So, you need the state to give some job to the private sector maybe. Or the state is downgrading delibrrately so that the private sector will take its place. I am not going to suggest something. Whatever works better for the people!
The problem is that Berlin is not just a city, it's a state. The government services outside of the state, like the army or the coast guard, can't just march in and start doing stuff. They have to wait for permission, but the Berlin government took days to announce an emergency and ask for aid.
The private groups didn't need permission. And some, like the police and the firefighters, already had that permission. That is why they were faster, but that is also why the larger and more technical aid took so long to get there.
That was why the Berlin state failed: incompetence. And, apparently, simple laziness and arrogance.
Also just idiotic stuff like publishing the plans for the electrical grid on the Internet.
