Talk:Martin Schulz/Archives/2017/July

Opening Paragraph

This has been changed several times recently. Apart from inaccurate information being posted there (e.g. Commission instead of the Parliament), the following sentence has repeatedly been inserted: "This is a position chosen by secret ballot and he is therefore not chosen by the citizens of Europe." I don't think that should be included in the opening paragraph for the following reasons: 1. Articles on the speakers of other parliaments do not include the voting procedure in their introductory paragraph. See the articles on John Boehner and John Bercow for comparison. In the case of the latter, he was also elected by secret ballot. There is also a manual of style for biographies here on Wikipedia, which gives guides for what should be included in the opening paragraph[1] 2. The phrase "not chosen by the citizens of Europe" may not conform to Wikipedia: NPOV. The subject may not be chosen directly by the citizens of the European Union in a direct election but he is elected by the representatives in the parliament as is the case with other speakers.[2] 3. The information on how the subject is elected can easily be included in the body of the text or in the relevant article on the President of the European Parliament.

I have reverted for now. Please feel free to share your views on this. O lockers (talk) 18:53, 7 January 2014 (UTC)