It is always a matter of perspective. Are you aware of the Microsoft European Government Leaders' Forum in Berlin? Microsoft organizes a two day conference to discuss "Perspectives of Modernising Government" with European government representatives.
"The 2008 Microsoft Government Leaders’ Forum—Europe (GLF) brings together senior politicians, officials, and influencers from across Europe to share views, visions and first-hand experiences of modernising government."
Two days of high-level flachpfeifen in Berlin, Germany. A side purpose of the event is to lift up an OOXML/ODF/Standards analyst from Gartner and rent-a-politician on equal footings with high-ranking government representatives who are supposed to discuss soft balls.
GLF—Europe will focus on two crucial questions:
- How can we measure the full potential of government modernisation and what is the role of Information Technology in achieving it?
- How can we access Europe’s diverse, multi-cultural human potential to deliver economic, social and cultural benefits?
The fundamental problem with this event is not Microsoft's legitimate agenda to sell and promote its products, of course the company also seeks government contracts. It is rather a fundamental misunderstanding of governance in Europe. Let me explain the intercultural differences and pose a simple question: Who = "we"?
I will defend my own rather conservative perspective on governance by liberal principles and explain why I find the so-called modernization of Prussian best governance practice is not worth to get considered.
Leaderlich
The GLF event series as documented on the website follows an American conception of democratic leadership. For Europeans that smells uneducated kraftmeierei. It fundamentally contravenes the role attributed to politicians as the elected persons who control the administration and are held responsible by the people. No one requests from a politician to be a leader. A persons takes a government role with certain duties and power attached. When you discuss "leadership" of a politician you do it with the purpose to undermine his position. Not to mention that the policy of an Austrian who chose the title "leader" put Europe as a whole into ashes. Sure, the guys in Seattle who set up the website and added the Berlin tourist photos were not aware of that. The concept behind the government leaders' forum is a simple undemocratic misconception about the political process and a misunderstanding how to professionally lobby European politicians.
Our European proclaimed "political leaders" discuss together with "business leaders" from abroad what THEY need to get done. However, this is not the way our political systems are designed or supposed to work. In fact the concept is a soft threat to the free and democratic basic order.
Ironically GLF speaker Chancellor Angela Merkel started her political career with computer installation aid to the Eastern German Christian democrats. Back then GLF speaker Bill Gates was regarded as an important person in software box business who was worth to get listened to. Today she is Chancellor and he is a multi-billionaire celebrity who withdrew from operative business. Only occasionally as recently with the Open XML vote in the US he interferes into what matters. And guess what: it still works. Germany is also perceived as very dangerous grounds. After all the govermental document format discussions started all in Germany, we are told. So he unretires and visits Europen politicians in Berlin. Berlin is currently considering to switch to alternative products. In Germany all federal states contract individually.
Soft-colonialization
Human Potential
Europe's capacity to innovate and compete in the global markets is a key factor in our future well-being. The pressing economic challenge is to ensure that our educational framework is relevant, dynamic and flexible not only to enable Europe's workforce to respond to existing competitors but also to anticipate and manage emerging situations. Life-long learning, staying longer in working life as well as university reform and high level skills for the next generation is on the European political agenda for the future.
It is not too difficult to spot the arrogance of a company from a third nation to interfere into the political democratic process of foreign nations. Who do they think they are? Who invited them to question or comment on our universities and citizens' decisions to retire? It is never to late to learn to respect the rules. This is what should be of our concern as it reflects that something is broken. So why is Microsoft's educational framework relevant, dynamic and flexible not only to enable Europe's workforce to respond to existing competitors but also to anticipate and manage emerging situations? I don't know. The only thing I know for sure is that I am a citizen and I want our politicians to serve the national interest. How come that an American company participates in or encourages general political debates? Why do they denigrate citizens to "workforce" with "human potential" that our government should "access"?
Article 20 Basic Law
(1) The Federal Republic of Germany is a democratic and social Federal state.
(2) All state authority emanates from the people. It is exercised by the people by means of elections and voting and by separate legislative, executive and judicial organs.
(3) Legislation is subject to the constitutional order; the executive and the judiciary are bound by the law.
(4) All Germans shall have the right to resist any person seeking to abolish this constitutional order, should no other remedy be possible.
Planned business
Governments can act as motors of change by bringing forward policies to support the twin pillars of economic competitiveness and social inclusion while accelerating their own business plans to modernise and transform public services.
In Germany economic policy follows still a mostly ordoliberal approach. The implantation of agenda policy is a later phenonemon which emerged after the collapse of the Eastern regime when the business lobby started to rediscover planned policy models and abandonned liberal principles that were a fundamental mantra in the cold war. But in any case Governments do not execute "business plans". France shifted away from governmental planning, not to mention the communist Eastern European regimes with their central planning that kindly collapsed less than twenty years ago. I am also not aware of the "twin pillars of economic competitiveness and social inclusion" Germany for instance is a democratic and social Federal state. Governmental economic policy is an expression of democratic decision-making, there are no goals or pillar limitations beyond the constitution.
Honourable speakers
Andrea di Maio, Gartner
Distinguished analyst Andrea di Maio is best known to our debate for his "cynical views" that preempt the Burton wisdom. He takes a very strong role in the Berlin Leader Conference. Would he also present his document format battle presentation?
Andrea di Maio's Gartner presentation: The battle for open formats, a cynical view
Andrea di Maio's Gartner presentation: The battle for open format, a cynical view (other version)
What Really Matters
• Ensure that standards are truly open
• Invest on converters and track compatibility issues
• Require open standards, but think twice before committing to one only.
Gartner is the consultancy company that messed up the IDABC EIF 2.0. See our acid comments and the other comments that were comprehended with creative interpretation. The Gartner study ensured that standards are truly open by redefining the complicated issue what "open" actually means, one of my favourite quotes from the Gartner study we singled out:
Neglecting the legacy and evolution of standards — EIF v1.0 has a strong focus on the proliferation of open standards. This is quite understandable given open standards legislation and from a long term perspective. However, this focus ignores the fact that existing standards may represent an operational legacy and migrating to open standards may require significant investments and time without delivering new value. Besides EIF v1.0 does not mention the worldwide bestpractice to support multiple standards simultaneously in order to prevent vendor lockin and sustain innovation.
Andrea di Maio has a great idea to shift the interoperability debate to what really matters:
Move the debate ASAP from standards to price/performance
Problem: How do you move debates in a democratic society? The Government Leader Forum is certainly not the right approach:
Keynote Presentation:
Andrea Di Maio • Vice President, Distinguished Analyst • Gartner
“New World of Government”
New scenarios, like the EU services directive, require new approaches to develop eGovernment solutions in order to support the local economies and reduce costs. Existing and new IT technologies support the modernisation of government solutions for citizens and businesses. The latest developments in the Internet (e.g. Participative Web or Web 2.0) provide a perspective of how ICT can drive the transformation of eGovernment in its different approaches: G2C, G2B and G2G. The questions include, “What is the current situation in Countries”; “How to “survive” the present”; and “What to look at for the future.”
and another workshop
… will provide the opportunity to discuss more in depth the themes of the “New World of Government” plenary session. For example, how will new technologies change the way governments interact with each other, including Local vs. Central synergies, with business, and crucially, with citizens and communities. What services for citizens, what perspectives for government agencies, in modernising, simplifying and extending access.
Pat Cox rough and ready again
And we have Pat Cox again, the former Irish European Parliament president who ruined his reputation with his lobbying jobs for Microsoft. The one who was supposed to lobby for EU software patents and "advises Microsoft on EU-US relations".
With the collapse of the former Soviet Union, I thought the days of property expropriation in Europe were over. Now I wonder, following the European Commission's latest policy twist in its interminable case against Microsoft.
Extreme Keynoting
As an expression of the organizer's bearish communication skills government officals are addressed as "The Honourable". Federal Minister of Justice Brigitte Zypries for instance becomes "The Honourable Brigitte Zypries • Federal Minister of Justice • Germany". Honourable leaders, these are two soft insults in one phrase. But in the case of Brigitte Zypries the uncommon title "Honourable" may eventually conform certain Commonwealth conventions where you address members of Parliament as "The Honourable". Brigitte Zypries is also MP or MdB as we say.
A superlative concerns the "keynoting": For instance on the first day:
Forum Welcome: Jean-Philippe Courtois • President, Microsoft International • Senior Vice President, Microsoft Corporation
Forum Opening Keynote Presentation: The Honourable Klaus Wowereit • Governing Mayor • Berlin, Germany (TBC)
Keynote Presentation: The Right Honourable George Reid • Former Presiding Officer • The Scottish Parliament
Keynote Presentation: The Honourable Brigitte Zypries • Federal Minister of Justice • Germany
Keynote Presentation: The Honourable Vladimír Špidla • Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs & Equal Opportunities • European Commission
Keynote Presentation: The Honourable Aleksandr Tichanin • Governor of Irkutsk Region • Russia
Keynote Presentation: Andrea Di Maio • Vice President, Distinguished Analyst • Gartner
Keynote Presentation: Dr. Ralf Schneider • Chief Information Officer • Allianz Deutschland AG, Germany
