Bernie: Hitler wasn’t all bad
F1 commercial rights holder Bernie Ecclestone has courted more controversy over remarks he made about Adolf Hitler during an interview with the Times.
Ecclestone referred to Hitler as ”able to get things done,” a comment which has provoked anger and fury from relatives of the victims of the most notorious dictator in history.
Mr Ecclestone said: “In a lot of ways, terrible to say this I suppose, but apart from the fact that Hitler got taken away and persuaded to do things that I have no idea whether he wanted to do or not, he was in the way that he could command a lot of people, able to get things done.
“In the end he got lost, so he wasn’t a very good dictator because either he had all these things and knew what was going on and insisted, or he just went along with it . . . so either way he wasn’t a dictator.” He also rounded on democracy, claiming that “it hasn’t done a lot of good for many countries — including this one [Britain]”.
The 78-year-old was referrring to the row between FOTA and Max Mosley, in which the former accused the latter of being a dictator. Ecclestone’s comments -which defend dictatorship – are clearly meant as a defence of Mosley’s style, but he must have known the controversy they would cause.
Ecclestone did not anticipate the media firestorm that his remarks would cause, with his and Mosley’s leadership of the sport already under heavy criticism. The comments bring yet more bad press onto Mosley’s shoulders. The FIA President’s father was leader of the British fascists in the 1930s.
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Alex 3 | Jul 6, 2009 | Reply
Bernie has shot his mouth off time and time again and like now just sloughed it off as a misunderstanding.
What he doesn’t seem to grasp is that he is the head of a huge public organization that has had enough bad publicity of late and he should be more sensitive in his remarks.
Many have been accused of breach of the sporting code for bringing disrepute on the sport. Well both he and Max Mosley hace done that- Max would argue it’s his private life but he doesn’t have one on that plain – but somehow have avoided censure for their acting by the FIA and now CVC.
With a key politician cancelling a meeting with BE re the future of the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim how can that not be damaging to the sport?
A double standard for sure.
It is time for both Bernie and Max to be history on the F1 stage.
autogyro | Jul 6, 2009 | Reply
Before all these Jewish organizations criticize Bernie they should remember the current genocide actually happening in Gaza and being undertaken by the ‘Jewish’ Israeli Government.
Of course non of the members of that government can prove they are Jews being of East European extraction but the truth counts for little these days.
The need for cost cuts and modern technology in F1 has been caused by the economic crisis.
This was as a direct result of the Zionist bankers stealing all your money and our lap dog government paying them Trillions of your pounds instead of arresting them and throwing away the key.
F1 can only survive with the FIA and a President of huge intellect and strength of character.
Max is the only person available who will not sell out to the obsolete car industry and the oil industry. He would also make a far better PM than the current weed.
kimmy | Jul 7, 2009 | Reply
Hitler WASN’T THAT BAD. Bush wasn’t that bad. Stalin wasn’t that bad.
Who was bad?