German Parliament scolds MP for being first to use Apple iPad during Bundestag speech

“A German politician has raised eyebrows and drawn scorn this week by becoming the first member of parliament to use an iPad during a speech. Computers are banned on the floor of the Bundestag, but with politicos tiring of carrying around heavy files, a feisty debate is expected to ensue over the use of digital devices,” Spiegel Online reports.

“Jimmy Schulz, a member of parliament with the business-friendly Free Democrats (FDP), drew criticism this week after using his new iPad during a speech before the Bundestag,” Spiegel Online reports. “‘One of the presidents of the Bundestag told me that the iPad usage had violated policies,’ Schulz told the Berliner Kurier newspaper.”

“Schulz had been the first member of parliament to eschew pen and paper and instead use an iPad as the cue card for his talking points,” Spiegel Online reports. “The issue is to be taken up by the Bundestag’s Committee on the Rules of Procedure, a parliament spokesperson told the newspaper.”

Spiegel Online reports, “41-year-old Schulz would like to see the Bundestag get wired. ‘The age of the telefax and telex has passed,’ he told the newspaper, taking a swipe at parliament’s Luddite rules. ‘The Bundestag also needs to open itself up to new media.’ The FDP’s parliamentary group is pushing for permission to use digital files in Germany’s legislative body. ‘It is not acceptable that we have to continue schlepping mountains of files around with us,’ Schulz said.”

Full article here.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Readers “Wolfgang M.” and “Lynn W.” for the heads up.]