TDF situation in relation to the German Foundations Authority, and why this led the BoD to make an extremely difficult decision on the MC election

Italo: Thanks for your work analysing the background to the issues TDF is facing and which I know the board will discuss next week. I agree with your analysis in relation to those issues.

However, I came to a different conclusion to you in relation to the decision to intervene against the Trustees’ decision in the Membership Committee vote. I did this for multiple reasons:

  • The reaction against Cor seems very personal, Neither personal dislike or affinity should play a role in this decision. Whether or not we agree with the approach he took to countering arguments by one of the directors in the last and current Board is not relevant to a decision to frustrate the choices of the Trustees about who should serve on the MC.
  • The issue of a conflict of interest, of the need for arm’s length dealing, is most likely addressed in the new MC by Cor’s detachment from the companies involved in the issue. I do not find the probability it is still disqualifying to be great enough to justify making up a special procedure to void the MC election.
  • In each of TDF’s bodies there is a need for each elected member to decide when and how to participate based on the matter at hand and the situation involved. I have every confidence the new MC will make good decisions in this regard and see no need to intervene in advance.
  • The Statutes lay out a mechanism for dealing with a situation where a member of the MC is not a suitable person to serve, in § 12 (3). It does not involve the Board denying the election of the individual and I believe if there is a case for Cor to answer it should be dealt with via that mechanism.

I recognise that other directors may disagree (and I do not accuse them of “serving interests that are neither TDF’s nor LibreOffice’s” for doing so) but I believe the appropriate solution to disagreement is discussion and mutual compromise to create consensus. That’s why I proposed referring the decision to the process in §12(3) of the statutes so that the Trustees can decide.

In conclusion, I believe the Board’s decision to have been made in error and without due process, which is why I voted against it, and will propose at Monday’s board meeting to reverse the decision (as the Board has done to so many other questionable decisions), confirm the MC election result as it shgould have done and then refer the matter to the Trustees.

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Hi @ohallot , Olivier,
I don’t want to deny posts of e.g. Eyal 11 18, Michael 14, Thorsten 20 and others. I even think that in various aspects these are even more interesting than mine. But pls allow me to be so selfish to ask if you can be so kind to translate my not too long comment, also in serving your language community.
Thanks!
Cor

Oh, similar kind request to @jfn (JeanFrancois) and @Italo of course.