While we are waiting...
This is the situation in the Parliament:
| Venstre (liberal) | 51 | Government. Suggest dual standards |
| Konservative | 18 | Government. Probably pro dual standards together with the Minister |
| Socialdemokratiet (Labour) | 47 | Pro single standard ODF |
| Radikale | 16 | Pro single standard ODF |
| Dansk Folkeparti | 23 | Pro single standard ODF |
| Socialistisk Folkeparti | 11 | Pro single standard ODF |
| Enhedslisten | 6 | Pro single standard ODF |
| Fólkaflokkurin, Tjóðveldisflokkurin, Inuit Ataqatigiit and Siumut | 4 | Faroe Islands and Greenland - Will probably abstain |
| Stand-alone Members | 3 | Unknown |
| Members | 179 |
Four members from Faroe Islands and Greenland will probably abstain from voting. They will only use their vote in matters regarding their home lands.
So 103 members is pro single format ODF. 69 votes is recommending dual standards. A few votes are unknown.
Will this automatically give us a single standard implementation ?
Unfortunately not.
The case is, that the Minister of Science and Technology has already proposed a plan for implementing dual standards (EOOXML and ODF). It's his job to suggest the implementation of Resolution B 103 and the Parliament will accept this, unless something is absolutely wrong. This is what we are trying to convince them about right now. There has already been a meeting, where the Minister asked the Members to accept his proposal, but they didn't. They postponed the decision. The Members are asking questions to the Minister and the Minister must answer these questions. He must answer correctly. He will do what he can, to avoid saying anything that is not the truth. If he did, it could cost him the position and in a serious case: the government.
What might happen next ?
Scenario 1: The Minister will stick to dual standards and force it. This will cost him some bargains later on. But if this cause is important to him, he might want to do it.
Scenario 2: The Minister will count votes (like I did) and see that forcing dual standards could be dangerous form him at a later time.
Scenario 3: This issue will end up in a major bargain between several parties and the votes will be 'sold' for votes on other (and more important/understandable) matters.
No, I don't want to make a bet on this at this time.
Del.icio.us
2 comments:
"Four members from Faroe Islands and Greenland will probably abstain from voting. They will only use their vote in matters regarding their home lands."
It might be worth pointing out to those members that Open Source applications using ODF are far more likely to be translated to use Faroese and Greenlandic languages than (for instance) a proprietary application. While ODF is language independent, the applications that use probably will not be, and it is in their interest to support an infrastructure that allows them to use their own languages rather than be forced into using a foreign corporation's market-led business choices.
That is absolutely true. And we are working on that as well. We are trying to raise native language projects in both Faroe Islands and Greenland.
But in this context (counting votes in the Danish Parliament), the members from the Atlantic areas are not in our interest.
Best wishes, Leif
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