[sp1rit]

> Why the heck would the application for the German passport or Ausweis be published by some random GmbH and not Bundesregierung.gov?

This way the government doesn't have to release information to the public (think FOIA) about it. Moving central part of government operation into a private GmbH wholly owned by the government has (sadly IMHO) become a somewhat common strategy for the government. Not just Governikus (the one with the passport) but also the Telematik (Health system) and probably some more.