No white smoke rose in Oberhaching. But there is smoke in the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB). A week after the election of Munich as the German candidate for the Summer Games and Paralympics, the attempt by a “finding committee” to convince the DOSB's strongest member organizations of a new leadership group in advance failed. In the spotlight: Michael Mronz, the IOC member.
According to the plan, the Cologne resident is to be elected DOSB President in December as Thomas Weikert's successor. There was no unity for this goal on Friday. Neither the state sports associations (LSB) nor the top associations wanted to commit.
It is nothing new that initiatives within a sports association try to obtain majorities before elections. In sport, the opposite is noticeable: arguments on the open stage, candidacies, decisions on election day. Filling the positions should be clarified in advance. That was the plan.
There's nothing illegal about it. The search committee, which describes itself as “informal” and is nominally composed of equal numbers with regard to the key groups in the DOSB, left no doubt about its at best preparatory function when presenting its election proposals. In its report, it presents itself as an initiative without “its own election and nomination authority”.
This is honorable, but at first glance astonishing. Why does the Commission explain something self-evident to the associations in a very embellished, sometimes redundant way?
Apparently she anticipated the feeling in the heterogeneous DOSB that they would be run over by the process. Rarely has an election recommendation seemed so thoroughly planned and predictable. The search committee not only agreed on Michael Mronz as the first presidential candidate, but also, presumably in coordination, on the composition of the presidium. The commission presented its tableau in Oberhaching. This process was accompanied by attempts at advocacy by influential personalities.
It would be too easy to base the tangible resistance solely on a bad feeling. The strong interest of winter sports associations, for example, in installing someone from their circle as vice-president also appears to be solvable. But behind the rebellion from at least a dozen associations - in addition to winter sports, there were also critical inquiries from athletics and the rowing association - there is also concern about the matter: Will German sport make progress with these recommendations?
It's not just about a successful Olympic campaign, but, as specifically listed in the search committee's report, about "greater social and political resonance", about "strengthening unity", about the role of the DOSB as a "service provider", about the reform of top-class sport and the development of popular sport. According to the search committee, the Olympic bid serves as a “motor”.
The sports officials agree on this. But some people don't seem sure that the marketing expert Mronz would have the fundamental inclination, or at least the strength, to successfully manage the huge program alongside the Olympic program. “His objective,” says the search committee’s report, “is to further develop the DOSB into a Europe-wide or world-leading National Olympic Committee.”
Skeptics see this as too much concentration on the O in the DOSB; Conversely, there is a risk of neglecting issues that the DOSB has rarely focused on since it was founded 20 years ago. In any case, he wouldn't be faced with this huge amount of tasks if things had been different.
It is said that it was not Michael Mronz's “solid” performance that caused dismay in Oberhaching, for example among state sports associations. The disagreement among the leading associations was irritating. This speaks against the proclaimed unity. And for an election campaign. A potential opponent, DOSB Vice President Martin Engelhardt, is ready. Those involved will try to avoid confrontation. But it wouldn't be a bad sign if the sport had a choice in December.
