There is no doubt about it: the campaign for the IOC presidency is well underway. And it is already showing great speed. The seven candidates to succeed Thomas Bach have put the finishing touches to their programmes – they must be published by the body before the end of the week – and they are preparing their big speech before the members, on 30 January in Lausanne.
In the meantime, they are speaking out in the media. Sebastian Coe and Morinari Watanabe, in particular, have recently done so. Feisal Al Hussein has also submitted to the interview exercise. He is less used to it. The 61-year-old Jordanian prince, a member of the IOC Executive Board, answered questions from Reuters during a visit to London.
His candidate manifesto is based on three pillars: imagination, integrity and inclusion. So far, nothing very new. But the Jordanian goes further: he proposes, like the Japanese Morinari Watanabe, to rethink the governance of the IOC to make it more democratic. More surprising, and even innovative: he suggests making the dates of the Games more flexible, to really take climate change into account.
The IOC, first. Feisal Al Hussein recognizes that the body needs to give more voice and influence to its members. Power cannot belong only to the president and the executive board.
« We are not fully using the potential of the IOC, he told Reuters. The question is how can we unlock this potential? A key part of this is inclusivity. This means integrating members better, making sure their voices are heard, making them feel like they are an integral part of the process. It is important that they do not feel that decisions are being dictated from the top down, but rather that their views matter and that they can actively contribute to them. »
In short, Feisal Al Hussein proposes to put an end to the era, the Thomas Bach years, when the IOC members were most often content to validate in session the decisions already taken in Lausanne. They no longer vote, they ratify.
Another project: Olympic Games with more flexible dates. The Winter Games, to meet the challenge of global warming, but also the Summer Games.
« Olympism is based on universality, meaning that the Games can be held in different places around the world., he explains. My concern today is that with global warming or climate change, there will be fewer and fewer countries that can safely host the Olympic Games on the traditional dates. The current format limits the number of countries that can host them. I would be talking to the international federations, and with other stakeholders in the Olympic movement, to discuss possible flexibility in the calendar to allow other countries to host the Games."
The Jordanian prince does not name them, but his idea could help the ambitions of the two Gulf sporting superpowers, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. With the Summer Games moved out of their usual window, between July and September, their chances of securing their hosting in 2036 or beyond would be significantly enhanced.
Younger brother of King Abdullah II, in power in Jordan for a quarter of a century, Feisal Al Hussein presents himself as a consensual and credible candidate, capable of bringing together cultures and currents.
« Culturally I am oriental, but I was also educated in the western way, so I understand the difference in culture, he emphasizes. It has helped me in a lot of the work that we do, being able to bridge the gaps (…) I hope that most members will look at the manifesto and say, ‘Okay, this is someone I can see as IOC president and I like what he thinks. I like his style.’ I think I’ve always been credible because I speak very frankly. I don’t try to say things that I think people want to hear."
