Why was The Holy Roman Empire so Dysfunctional?

Why was the Holy Roman Empire so Dysfunctional?

The Holy Roman Empire - neither holy, nor Roman, nor empire - we’ve all heard the jokes. Truly though, it seems that the Holy Roman Empire existed as no more than a weak attempt to revive the glory of what once was. It’s said, furthermore, that where there is smoke there must be fire, and in this case, that rings true. All of the jokes and memes about the Holy Roman Empire being a bit of a mess didn’t come from nothing. The HRE really was pretty inadequate - relatively, at least. So then, how did the successor of the magnificent Roman Empire turn out so dysfunctional?...