Bernie Ecclestone is a very clever man. When he talks to pressmen he generally tells them what they want to hear. He gives them a story and usually sends a subtle message to someone in the sport when he does so. When he rails against Silverstone it is normally because he is a negotiating a contract. If he talks about a new race taking place in Bulgaria (for example), it is probably because he wants the Hungarian government to come up with more money.
Like a magician, if there is a flash and a bang on one side of the stage, one should not be looking in that direction.
Bernie’s remarks about dictators seem simply bizarre. Perhaps there is a subtle message in this hinting that, as dictatorship is a good thing, that he thinks Max Mosley really is a dictator. He clearly reckons that Mosley would be a great politician. I tend to agree. But in the same interview he says that “they have to lie, don’t they? Politicians. The truth is not always good to hear”. Is he hinting in a subtle fashion that Mosley cannot be trusted?
Who knows?
What we can say without a question of doubt is that not all publicity is good publicity. Suggesting that Adolf Hitler was led into his crimes by those around him, clearly shows a rather poor grasp of history. Admittedly, Ecclestone did not study such things. He was busy making money, but perhaps if he had dipped into Hitler’s Mein Kampf, published in 1925, he would have found that the Nazi leader had already developed his anti-Semitic views and his plans for a bigger and stronger Germany. Spouting forth such thoughts is bound to cause a negative reaction from Jewish groups and inevitably Ecclestone has been labelled “either an idiot or morally repulsive”.
Is there any positive element in this description for the Formula 1 world? It adds to the image that F1 is a tawdry business, run by very odd people, who do not have any grasp at all of what real people think. One might argue that this is bringing the sport into disrepute, although it is hard to imagine that Mosley would level such a charge against Ecclestone. Given what happened to Lewis Hamilton earlier this year for telling a small lie, one should expect the wrath of the federation to rain down upon Ecclestone, but it is not going to happen, is it?
Why?
If Ecclestone’s remarks have no purpose at all, one must ask why they have been said. On the other hand if there is a message in them one struggles to understand what he is saying. Is there a message in what he has been saying about dictatorship or did he just get carried away with some rather bizarre views about Hitler?
And why, in any case, is a motor racing commercial mogul giving his views on autocracy?
Max Mosley, the president of the FIA, has recently been accused of being dictatorial. Although Bernie’s views seem to be generally supportive of Mosley, his parallels with Hitler, Saddam Hussein and others really do Mosley no favours at all.
So what is it all about? Why is Ecclestone ruminating on the value of dictatorship. Is he trying to send a message of support to Mosley, or hint that it is time for him to give up and leave the FIA? Is there a message in this that only Mosley will understand, because it makes no sense at all for the average F1 fan.
There was a time, a few years back, when there was a popular view in F1, that the only way to get Mosley out of the FIA would be to get him into real world politics. That would be attractive enough to get him to leave the backwater of the FIA – and its tributary F1 – behind. But Mosley is now 69 years of age and the idea that he might be able to build a career in politics is stretching reality a little.
Fifty years ago when Mosley was keen to get into real politics he was told that there was no way he would ever be elected a Member of Parliament, because of his father’s Fascist activities in the 1930s. Even allowing for people to accept the recent sex scandal – which is not going to happen easily – the primary issue is one of age. Yes, Mosley could in theory be put into the House of Lords as a heriditary peer and thus could hold a cabinet office, but the last Prime Minister in the House of Lords was Lord Salisbury in 1895. The oldest first term Prime Minister in British history was Lord Palmerston in 1855 (when he was 71) but he had been in parliament for 48 years and had served for many years as Foreign Secretary. The oldest Prime Minister of all was William Gladstone at 82, but he had been in parliament for 60 years at that point and it was his fourth term of office.
All the rising stars of modern British politics are in their 40s.
So the idea that Mosley might move from the automobile world to politics is a nice idea, but can hardly be seen as the purpose of Ecclestone’s comments.
So what was it all about?
the funniest part of this story is that thew journalist he was talking to is Jewish!!! Ben Gurr definitely aint an Englishman im sure!!!
Thanks for the history lesson, good old Lord Salisbury mentionend in a F1 blog, who would have thought that. Bernie should take some history lessions too, might do him some good.
If you really want to see a good management of a sport, look what David Stern did to the NBA since 1984. He turned it into a global sport, changed rules to make it more attractive, introduced new teams, etc. In addition, has no known bizarre hobbies or questionable political views.
The most telling thing is that only Ecclestone could get away with putting Mosley and Hitler in the same context without an instant public outburst followed be a lawsuit (though I suppose it could be a little too early to hear from Mosley on that score). Ecclestone is rather like a medieval banker funding (at a suitable rate of interest) the adventures of this or that king. He has the key (the money) to Mosley’s pocket kingdom. So Mosley has to parse his pronouncements as well.
But whether intentional or not, Ecclestone is also playing the king’s fool, the guy who can tell the king what the king does not want to hear but really needs to hear, without getting his head chopped off for the impertinence.
As a side effect, this sort of behavior (as Mr. Saward points out) does not shine well on F1. The manufacturers — the ones that wear suits to work — really must be wondering why they are involved in all this. But Bernie holds the keys to their kingdom as well, assuming they want to stay in F1. And they know he is rich enough he doesn’t need any of this any more than they do, so he can say what he likes. Possibly he is nudging them to hold firm about which oddball they want to play with, if they want to play at all.
I think Bulgaria is actually a bigger threat for the Turkish Grand Prix than it is for the Hungarian one. Bernie knows that the Hungarian economy isn’t doing well at all, so this country is expected to have difficulties with paying what we agreed to, not even more. And it should be mentioned that IMO Bernie have some emotional links (if we can say about him at all) towards the Hungarian Grand Prix. Since 1986 he has had every reason to throw out this race for example around 1990 and it is still there and it is not in such a big danger like it was in the past. We should note that a government guarantee is expected to be revealed during the race to provide the finances until 2016 but the political climate is pretty unstable nowadays, there are doubts whether the current PM will be able to fulfill his mandate until the 2010 elections.
I think the only real threat in this region would be a race in Poland but they need a couple of years to do something and it might be too late for the Kubica-hype. Throwing out the Hungaroring would mean that the Polish fans would have to travel to the Nürburgring or to Monza and I’m sure they prefer the Hungaroring over these venues. Bulgaria would be OK for the Russians but the Polish, Finnish, German, Austrian fans are a bigger and probably more important audience. I hope Sebastian Vettel and the Red Bull will be able to recreate the Schumacher-ish interest towards the Hungarian GP.
Are Max and Bernie Masons of some sort? I’m sure Bernie is, maybe it’s some secret code?
I think now thatthe teams have capitulated Bernie needs to ensure his boy stays in power to make sure the FIA don’t give him any trouble. The last thing Bernie wants is a Balestre like figure who thinks he should be making decisions about the sport. Bernie is used to having Max looking after his rear and particularly with the teams demonstrating some unity at last he doesn’t want to fight a war on two fronts. At least his limited knowlefge of Hitler should have taught him that was a bad idea. The last thing he wants is someone in charge of the FIA who actually does want to re-negotiate the commercial rights deal rather than someone saying it for political gain.
I think his comments are the start of Max’s re-election campaign. Max has to be a dictator and the poor soul has to lie. It’s not his fault seems to be the message. If he didn’t tell lies he could never get anything done.
What a sad endictment of F1 that someone in Bernie’s position not only believes the FIA president should be a dictator and and a liar but he can say it without fear of contradiction or reprisal.
Obvious isn’t it? He’s angling for an Iranian GP…
When I read the interview I had to check the date I remembered reading something very similar previously but no it wasn’t an old story so I had to go and see for myself.
Anyway I don’t think there’s much chance of him saying this sort of things to create or send subliminal messages to his friends/enemies, he’s been saying things like these over years and years. His hate towards democracy is not at all new, IMO he only expanded on this idea a little more (Hitler and so on). Who knows what sort of things Bernie says in private.
In case you are interested here are some old interviews.
BE 2004:
“Torture? It’s just an old-fashioned way of getting things done.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/2375239/The-funny-billionaire-in-trapped-in-the-body-of-a-tyrant.html
BE 2005:
“What’s happened over the years, we’ve introduced that terrible word ‘democracy,”‘ he said. “When I started, and it ran for a long time, it was really dictatorship.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/06/sports/06iht-prix.html
“The fact is that democracy doesn’t work that well… When I built this sport I wouldn’t tolerate compromise. It’s a lot more difficult now.”
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/bernie-ecclestone-the-goblin-driving-a-hard-bargain-with-the-future-510866.html
BE 2008:
“A good dictator is better for a country than a democracy.”
http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/uk-and-international-news/2008/02/17/ecclestone-britain-needs-a-dictator-78057-20322314/
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-514808/Why-I-detest-democracy-I-gave-Labour-1m–wife-said-I-asked-mistress-Bernie-Ecclestone.html
“Who knows what sort of things Bernie says in private.”
Is my wig on straight?
Would someone get the Frosties down from the top shelf please?
LOL @ The Kitchen Cynic, above.
I can’t say i am surprised by this latest interview with Ecclestone. It shows that he and Mosley are well suited.
However it is my opinion that Bernie knew exactly what he was saying, and did it in an attempt to draw the media,FOTA and the fans attention away from Mosley.
The media now will round on Bernie and leave Mosley to persuade enough people to re-elect him in October. I’m sure that if he gets re-elected and the teams are set to compete in F1 until 2012 then in that time Max Mosley will do his best to breakup FOTA so that they cannot create a breakaway after 2012.
I know he is getting on a bit, but i’m sure his next term would allow him to make his position even stronger and become more of a dictator than he is now. at the end of the next term he would be 72/73 and still able to carry on if he wished. And i am sure he would go till he met his maker.
[...] Saward, quem tem mais intimidade com Bernie do que os “chocados” jornalistas brasileiros, aponta acertadamente que por trás de suas declarações “bizarras” há sempre um subtexto, uma mensagem indireta endereçada a alguém de dentro do esporte. Diz Joe que “se ele ameaça [...]
[...] — mas ao menos eu sei o perfil desse homem. Se houvesse a possibilidade de escolher, eu faria como um dos leitores de Joe Saward e escolheria David Stern, o homem que transformou a NBA no esporte de exposição global que ele é [...]
Será que o Joe mudou a língua do blogue?
I generally don’t agree with Hitler remarks, the guy was insane. Maybe Bernie was comparing the problematic situation in th 1920s Germany to current economic crisis. It doesn’t mean that some nations should be allowed to enslave others or put people in gas chambers. It’s obviously not very pleasant when you find yourself being chopped to pieces by some fanatics.
But I fully approve this bit here: “Politicians are too worried about elections. We did a terrible thing when we supported the idea of getting rid of Saddam Hussein, he was the only one who could control that country. It was the same [with the Taleban]. We move into countries and we have no idea of the culture. The Americans probably thought Bosnia was a town in Miami. There are people starving in Africa and we sit back and do nothing, but we get involved in things we should leave alone.” It’s a brilliant passage, so far in the West nobody had the guts to admit it. That’s why Bernard must understand that holding F1 races in places where F1 culture never existed is a bad idea.
It’s also true that Mr E and Maxim are isolated dictators. When’s the revolution coming?
I think it’s Bernie being Bernie and mouthing off about the lack of political leadership in the West where we have had serial adulterers, imbeciles and incompetents elected and re-elected as their political spin doctors weave so much BS and give other people’s money away to their own supporters to ensure re-election. After all this writer heard him mouth off about a famous driver once and then learnt that he had hired the same driver just on twelve months later.
On a practical note though Bernie I think your comments on dictators may not go down well in Stuttgart, Munich, Paris, Maranello and Tokyo. Oh sorry they’re the same people behind FOTA aren’t they?
Ummm! In an earlier comment in another post I made a comment about MM retiring to the bunker.
I think what The Bolt is saying is”Look what happened to Hitler, he ended up shooting himself with his girlfriend in a bunker (you could substitute basement for bunker).”
All the other rubbish is just to make sure it is widely published and well publicized.
or…..
Perhaps The Bolt is trying to devalue F1 to the point where he can buy it “nice and cheap” from CVC.
Why is it that every time Max or Bernie say something, it’s blown out of proportion.
Does there have to be a message? it was an interview, and Bernie answered some question, or said a few things in a context of a casual conversation as it seems.
the quotes as they are posted in the original article look to be tailored and extracted from a longer interview and answer (the structure of the sentences don’t sound coherent). as if he was trying to make a point, but then that little explanation is put in public and the Jewish community goes berserk because someone said something about their sworn enemy or whatever the Jewish community would like to call Hitler.
why can’t someone’s rants, because that is what comes out of Bernie’s mouth anyway, be taken as they are, rants.
after all freedom of speech is what it is, there are no written limitation and red lines on what to say.
Bernie may say what he likes about democracy and such but at least when the bums in Parliament or Congress screw ups enough, the voters get a chance to throw them out. Maybe the reason why Max and Bernie hate democracy so much is because they would have to listen to other people’s opinions? Maybe they hate the idea of being accountable to someone? Maybe we should have a protest against Max and Bernie on Cable Street in London to show how much society does not appreciate or tolerate two bit dictators.
In terms of Bernie getting on his soapbox about Politicians, Saddam, the Taleban, and that bit that FOFA highlighted above. I find that funny because Bernie loves to do business around with dictators around the world. Look on how some of the countries that host F1 races rate on The Economist’ Democracy Index:
UAE: – 147th; China – 136th; Bahrain – 130th
Under the Economist’s rubric, these countries are classified as Authoritarian regime. Yet, that hasn’t stopped Formula One from going there. Bernie just cares about the money are will gladly take it from regimes such as these. If Bernie has a conscious about things like starving kids in Africa, then why does he gladly take money from the people who are the root cause of that poverty?
Joe,
In your post you mentioned that Jewish groups would be upset by Bernie’s remarks. Don’t you think anyone with a shred of decency would be upset? “Hitler got things done”. Right. He murdered 12 million people.
Bernie is disgusting. As he’s filthy rich, he beyond caring what others think of him. Maybe with his latest rubbish comments someone will give him a kick in the ass.
Perhaps he made the comments so that the Germans would drop the German Grand Prix for a few years without any public fuss?
The German circuits already can’t afford Bernie’s fees, so by giving them a political reason to stop hosting a race he frees up a calendar slot which he can then sell for the usual hugely inflated price.
Then in a few years time when Bernie has made amends with the German government (and coincidentally the German economy has improved enough to pay the hosting fees again) the German GP would then be reinstated.
Probably just a cynical thought on my part…