I don't think the distro maintainers had that much say, since the most popular Linux desktop software began to depend on it. It started with GNOME, and now KDE

I don't think the distro maintainers had that much say, since the most popular Linux desktop software began to depend on it. It started with GNOME, and now KDE is on its way. This basically forces their hand--if they want to provide a good out-of-the-box experience, they either have to switch to systemd, or continuously fight upstream's patches.