20/10/2010
NEWS STORY
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An Italian website claims that amidst unrest within the FIA, former president Max Mosley is considering making a comeback.
Following the confrontational approach taken by Mosley during his period at the helm, Jean Todt's reign has been positively trouble-free. Indeed, little has been heard of the Frenchman since he took office.
Ostensibly, Todt has been getting on with business, preferring a less head-on stlye of management than his predecessor. However, according to some sources all is not what it seems, and despite the apparent calm, much like a swan gliding gracefully on the water, there is furious paddling just beneath the surface.
In late August, a letter was sent to Todt and the various FIA member clubs and federations. The letter was signed David Smith, but this was clearly an alias.
The letter read as follows:
"The FIA will soon be considering a series of dangerous proposals for the reform of the statutes and of the decision making processes within the FIA.
While the final proposals are only available to a small group of paid new advisers and one or two elected members, the indications are very worrying for you the members.
The central pillar of the proposals is to hand to the FIA President substantial new executive powers over sport and mobility. The proposals centralize the FIA in a way never imagined under the existing statues and rules, with a small number of paid presidential advisers also being given wide ranging executive powers.
The two World Councils and the Senate will have much less power over the key day to day decisions of the FIA, with no say in the appointment of the CEO type of position. The appointment and dismissal being handed to the president alone.
The World Council under this new executive presidential system will only rubber stamp strategic decisions taken by the president and his hand chosen advisers.
The Senate will become less effective, and it is suggested that some of its members may also be chosen by the President - not elected by the General Assembly, as at present.
This would give the President effective control of the FIA Finances at a time when many questions have been raised about his financial management of your Federation.
The FIA is a Federation of clubs and sporting federations, it is a democracy that works by consensus, like the international Olympic Movement, it is a Global organisation of volunteers.
It would be a betrayal of the trust of the FIA members if this review is used merely to give more power to a President who already exercises enormous power under the existing rules.
These and other plans being discussed amongst the President and his private cabinet must be published immediately so that everyone within the FIA can judge whether this is the correct direction for our Federation, who's strength lies in it's federal structure, not in central control from an all powerful President and a group of unelected advisers.
I urge you to write to the President, and ask him to publish in full all of the proposals associated with the reform of the FIA already drafted by his advisers.
We must have full transparency at this important moment for the FIA, and it is up to you to protect the integrity of your Federation."
Todt's response was rapid and dramatic, the following day he wrote to the FIA member clubs and federations:
"By now you will have received a rather hysterical and I must say highly inaccurate and silly email from someone called David Smith about the Statutes Review process. The only item of truth in the email is that I will be circulating a paper this week to members of the Statutes Review Commission, which has been prepared at their request.
I could also circulate the paper to all clubs but that would undermine the process of the Statutes Review Commission. Instead I will put a number of facts before you and seek to answer some of the more strange claims contained in the email.
1: The SRC paper I have prepared is at the express request of the SRC members. It has been prepared as a discussion paper.
2: It will be discussed and I expect modified at the next Statutes Review Commission meeting on the 7th September.
3: The Statutes Review Commission is working very constructively together on changes to the Statutes. The Commission consists exclusively of Club Representatives mostly nominated by their regions.
4: The outcome of the next Statutes Review Commission meeting will be summarized and presented, again as a discussion paper, to all clubs well before the General Assembly in November for comment and opinion and discussion at the General Assembly.
5: Only after this process will statutory changes be drafted and then submitted to the General Assembly at the end of 2011 for final approval by clubs.
In relation to some of the strange claims in the email, when details are released to the Statutes Review Commission Members this week and to the clubs in October it will be obvious that
The proposal does not hand any additional executive powers to the President. In fact it strengthens the role of the Senate and the World Councils
The proposal does not establish any "CEO" type position. It simply puts in place plans announced earlier this year to create a third department in the FIA - that of support services, freeing the Mobility and Sports Secretary Generals to concentrate on their core activities without getting bogged down in day to day administration
Under the proposal the Senate will be enlarged and strengthened with additional responsibilities and it will be dominated by representatives of FIA member clubs
Under the proposal the President will be limited in what financial commitments he can make without the express consent of the Senate.
I could continue but I hope what I have outlined in this email will demonstrate just how silly and groundless the claims made by "David Smith", whoever he might be, are. Similarly when members of the Statutes Review Commission receive the draft paper they have asked me to prepare, they will be in a position to confirm just how silly this matter is.
I thank you for your ongoing support and on the subject of transparency, I can only urge whoever is behind this very strange email to have the courage to contact me directly to discuss the matter."
Hours later Smith responded claiming that Todt had misled the various clubs and federations with regards proposed changes to the constitution of the FIA.
According to Smith, these proposals include the extension of the presidential term to three terms (12 years), the power to appoint and dismiss a new (CEO) Secretary General and the power to appoint his own nominees to the FIA Senate and so gain control of the FIA Finances.
"As he says in point one of his 'proposed system', 'The president should be endowed with the broadest powers in respect of third parties, to act in all circumstances on behalf of the FIA within the limits of it's business and subject to the powers expressly granted to other organs of the FIA under the terms of the Statutes'," wrote Smith.
"I urge you to read this paper carefully," he continues, "as you will see it will lead to a significant reduction in democracy away from the Worlds Councils and elected members in favour of the President and his private paid advisers. It is your Federation; it does not belong to Mr Todt and his new advisers. Let's keep it democratic and transparent."
Around the same time Pitpass was hearing various rumblings that all was not well within the FIA, indeed, at one stage we were told that Max Mosley not only regretted backing Todt in the run up to last year's election but had actually apologised to Bernie Ecclestone.
While our subsequent communications with Mr Mosley were "strictly off the record", it would be fairly safe to draw the conclusion that there is a problem even if the talk of apologies to Ecclestone are wide of the mark.
Over the weeks various sources have told us that all is far from well within the FIA however, if we were to publish some of what has been alleged we would find ourselves in court.
"The simple fact is that M Todt is very unpopular, and starting to do very unpopular things," said one source.
While another told us: "He plans to restructure the main FIA Commissions (WRC, Touring Car, GT etc). He proposes to include the promoter of the championship, two organizers and other people appointed by him. No more representatives from ASN's. This is against the statutes of FIA though he will probably ask for them to be modified.
"The representatives from ASN's will be in regional Commissions," the source continued. "This means that every region could decide different sporting and technical regulations. This is certainly not what is in the FIA statutes - obliging manufacturers and teams to build different cars and creating problems to competitors.
"Actually Todt wants to deal only with the major championships, possibly promoting them directly," the source added. "The contract between the FIA and Eurosport for WTCC is only to the end of 2011 and there are no signs is going to be renewed. It is also making life difficult to the promoter of GT Championships."
"Jean Todt is clearly trying, with the proposed modifications to the FIA Statutes, to completely control the Federation and have all the power in his hands," added another. "He has not a quarter of the political skill and intelligence of Max Mosley, so is obliged to use that way.
"Members will have the opportunity to come to Paris to be told what has been decided. It looks like a genuine old fashioned communist regime..." they continued. "The President and his Cabinet of well paid advisors will decide. The late Jean Marie Balestre called Jean Todt "The Napoleon of the Desert". We should call the Cabinet "La Garde Imperiale".
Other than David Smith, there is anger elsewhere regards what is happening at the FIA, concern at what is happening to F1, the WRC, the World Sports Car Championship and various other series.
"He and his advisors are interested only in the top categories of motorsport," claims yet another source. "Who is looking after interests of the thousands and thousands of private competitors? This should be the duty of the clubs representatives in the FIA via the Commissions and the WMSC. Well, they will have less and less power..
"The FIA is not the private company of Jean Todt and his close friends," they added. "The FIA is owned by the clubs and they should not forget this. There is still time to stop Jean Todt, but it must be done now!!!"
The FIA's General Assembly meets in Paris on November 5, an ironic date, if only in terms of English history. One wonders if there will be fireworks in the Place de la Concorde.