Formula I boss praises Hitler

From British daily The Guardian:

Bernie Ecclestone says Hitler was a man who got things done

• ‘I prefer strong leaders,’ says Formula One supremo
• Max Mosley could be a good Prime Minister, he adds

*Saturday 4 July 2009 01.35 BST

The Formula One commercial rights holder, Bernie Ecclestone, has stoked up controversy by claiming that Adolf Hitler was a man who “was able to get things done”, that democracy has not worked out for Britain and that his colleague Max Mosley would make a good Prime Minister.

Ecclestone had previously stirred outrage when he suggested in 2008 that racist comments on a website about the British driver Lewis Hamilton had “started as just a joke”.

Yesterday a spokesman for the board of Deputies of British Jews said: “Mr Ecclestone’s comments regarding Hitler, female, black and Jewish racing drivers are quite bizarre. He says ‘Politics are not for me’ and we are inclined to agree.”

Ecclestone … added: “I prefer strong leaders. Margaret Thatcher made decisions on the run and got the job done. … Max would do a super job, he’s a good leader.” Apparently referring to the fact that the president of the FIA,

ex president

the sport’s ruling body, was the son of Sir Oswald Mosley,

and a candidate for his father’s fascist party

leader of the British Union of Fascists, he added: “I don’t think his background would be a problem.”

See also here.

Ecclestone-Tony Blair 1997 corruption scandal: here.

Campaigners gathered at the International Brigade memorial in London’s Jubilee Gardens at the weekend to be warned about the recent EU electoral success of the far-right and fascist parties across Europe: here.

A former Formula One boss lost his bid in international court today to force newspapers to tip off celebrities before stories about them go to print. Ex-FIA chief Max Mosley took his case to the European Court of Human Rights in 2008 after the News Of The World published a front-page story with photos and video of Mr Mosley attending a sadomasochistic sex party with five prostitutes: here.

Related articles

• Is Max Finished? Sex scandal still haunting FIA’s Mosley as critical meeting nears (motortrend.com)
• A Punishing Business: Formula 1 attempts to move forward in wake of “Spankgate” case verdict (motortrend.com)
• Adolf Hitler Released From Prison This Day 1924 (adanmawanji.wordpress.com)
• I’m not retiring yet – Ecclestone (bbc.co.uk)
• Ecclestone: I’m 82 years old and that’s how it is! (bertholdbouman.wordpress.com)