Former Formula One dictator-in-chief Bernie Ecclestone hates a lot of things. He hates the entire continent of North America, a known shit hole. He hates the idea of gender equality. He hates social media. He also hates when widespread corruption is out of the picture, because corruption accomplishes things.
But damn, does this guy hate democracy. He’s been reminding us of that for years, including when he said in 2009 that Hitler, Saddam Hussein and the Taliban were good at getting things done. Here are a few select quotes on that topic that made it into The Times, from Ecclestone circa almost a decade ago:
“If you have a look at a democracy it hasn’t done a lot of good for many countries - including this one. I like people who make up their minds.”
We did a terrible thing when we supported the idea of getting rid of Saddam Hussein, he was the only one who could control that country. It was the same [with the Taleban].
“In a lot of ways, ... [Hitler] 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.”
In the biggest shocker of them all, ol’ Bernie still hates democracy! That’s right, folks, votes don’t matter and neither do you. If you’re not controlling everybody and causing mass chaos anywhere you go, why should anybody listen to your bad opinions?
Ecclestone, who seems to be a year older every time we hear from him and is now 87, certainly doesn’t support democracy in F1. According to Autoweek, he thinks F1’s new owners—who kicked him out as CEO and into a “Chairman Emeritus” role, if we all remember—aren’t good at getting things done.
Old Bernie doesn’t like when people can’t get things done. From Autoweek:
Liberty Media is currently working with manufacturers — and facing pushback — about the engine rules for 2021, and Ecclestone said the only way to run the sport is as a dictator.
“Democracy has no place in Formula 1. The new owners will soon realize this, because so far they have achieved nothing,” Ecclestone told the Swiss Sonntagsblick newspaper.
Ecclestone is also mad at Ferrari for its “old game” of repeatedly threatening to quit F1 “if they don’t win,” because he has to have something to be mad about even if his terrible opinions have virtually no weight these days.
Talk about power, Bern. Sounds like you don’t have much.