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Woohoo, living in the future
Yeri "tuinslak" Tiete has been contacted by Belgian ICT minister Vincent Van Quickenborne -- on Twitter. The minister has invited Tielte to come discuss the NMBS/iRail issue with him, and states that "NMBS should be happy with your initiative."
As a recent expat I'm still learning my way around the complexities of Belgian politics, but it's very nice to see this kind of rapid, personal response -- especially from a prominent member of a party as large as Open VLD (who have slipped in power in the last few years, placing fourth among Flemish parties in the recent elections, but are still very much a going concern). I don't know how much influence Van Quickenborne has in his party, but if he can convince Open VLD as a whole to support open access to public data -- which fits in well with the party's emphasis on encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship -- that could very well lead to increased support at the polls. I'm looking forward to seeing how this continues to unfold.
As a recent expat I'm still learning my way around the complexities of Belgian politics, but it's very nice to see this kind of rapid, personal response -- especially from a prominent member of a party as large as Open VLD (who have slipped in power in the last few years, placing fourth among Flemish parties in the recent elections, but are still very much a going concern). I don't know how much influence Van Quickenborne has in his party, but if he can convince Open VLD as a whole to support open access to public data -- which fits in well with the party's emphasis on encouraging innovation and entrepreneurship -- that could very well lead to increased support at the polls. I'm looking forward to seeing how this continues to unfold.