30.10.2009


.: www.arivatanenrally.com

.: Mobility for prosperity

Présidents, Mesdames et Messieurs, Chers amis,

C’est un moment historique.  

Ultimately, we are not here to choose a new President.  
We are here to choose a new direction. A new era.
There must only be one winner today.  And that winner must be the FIA.

Thank you for making this moment possible. Everyone in this room is united by one thing.

Nous sommes unis par la passion pour l’automobile: whether we’re black or white, small or big.
Nous sommes unis par la passion pour l’automobile: fast or slow, rusty or shiny.

The only thing in question is the following:
What kind of a future do we want for our great institution?
Do we want more of the same?
Or do we want change?

I am honoured to stand before you with my team.  We are the original candidates for change – right from the start.

And change starts with three words.

RESPECT.
RECOGNITION.
RECONCILIATION.

Respect…for the great diversity of our family.  

Recognition…that’s the key thing.
There are too many unheard voices in our family. People must know that they are heard. From Moldova to Macau. From Mozambique to Mexico.

Big clubs must help smaller clubs in the FIA family. A big brother must help a small brother.

And reconciliation for our whole movement. Let’s find common ground - not battle ground.  
How else can we be a strong family?   
_____________________________________________________________

I want to share something personal with you.

On the 16th of October 1960 my whole family was driving in a car with my father. I was 8 years old. I loved being in that car with my father. It was brand new. It was the first car he had ever owned.

There was an accident. We survived. My father died.

Afterwards, my mother told me that I said these words. I will tame a car.

We can tame cars. But we can’t tame life. In front of life and Almighty we all remain humble and small.

Leaders, more than anyone else, need to know that.

For me, there is nothing more important than protecting human life.

There are many small boys waiting for their father.

In 2005 the EU Parliament approved my report on halving road deaths in Europe by 2010.  

That is I believe our most precious challenge at the FIA.  

I would like people to remember in Max Mosley’s legacy what is relevant. It is his ground-breaking, pioneering work in road and motor sport safety. Thank you Max.

FIA must continue to save human lives globally.

And I mean globally. A million euros spent on road safety in Europe is good, it might even save one life.  

But a million Euros invested in road safety in Ethiopia, in Indonesia, can save 100 lives.

Do you really think that a life in Paris is worth more than a life in Mumbai?

_____________________________________________________________

If you choose this team of change, you will see the first significant changes in our first year.

Too often our federation seems to be like a fire brigade trying to extinguish small fires here and there. Its role should be to prevent them instead.

Implementation of a long term strategy in FIA is my answer to this.  

WHAT operative changes will you see from us?

You will see lighter central management.

You will see less wasted money and more focus on results.

You will see independent auditors hired through an open tender. Not because they know me or one of my friends.  They will X-ray every part of the FIA.

You will also see me lobbing hard at the European Commission and government level to defend automobilists and our lifestyle.  We never talk about the problems of the automotive industry yet we all know that many companies are in crisis. When the industry suffers, we all suffer. Including our great sport.

You will see me representing not just 20 formula1 drivers, but our revolutionary mode of transport which is pivotal for human progress. There are one billion motorists who we must embrace because they are our chance to grow.

Mobility equals prosperity and eradication of poverty.

We motorists can hold our heads up high.
    
Good governance means first of all fair and honest communication and accountability. I will be accountable to you. I want to change the rules so you as owners can challenge an incumbent President.

You will see proposals for change, at an Extraordinary General Assembly early next year.

You will see us asking basic questions.

Questions about whether the FIA is trying to do things which you would be better at. For example, the role of FIA Foundation has to be guided back to produce right tools for its owners instead of taking a life of its own.

Questions about whether we’re loosing touch with reality by introducing regulations which keep people out of sport instead of bringing them in.

Questions about big deals, like the global rights sale of F1, three hundred million dollars for one hundred years, without open tender. It’s your money I’m talking about!

Questions about what your Membership fees actually buy you. For many, it’s only an annual dinner.  A private Jet – you never get to use!

I will urgently introduce an ethics code to cover all officials and employees. This kind of code of behaviour is the norm in the modern world because it is the key to public confidence.

It’s high time we had one as well.

Everyone, including the President, will be bound by this code.

Especially the President. I can see my family nodding!  

I now have the honour to invite two of my proposed vice presidents, Jack Wavamunno, and HRH Prince Feisal.
(Jack Wavamunno from Uganda and and Prince Feisal from Jordan gave their speeches)

My closing remarks:

Dear Friends

We are not lacking dreams.

In 1985 I nearly killed myself in Argentina, and I was convalescing for 18 months.  Jean looked after me very well.  And then we came back with the 1987 Dakar.  In Timbuktu I saw something I’ll never forget. There was a little boy by the side of road looking at the Paris-Dakar caravan.  I will never forget his shiny eyes.  When you dream, you can forget that your stomach is empty and you have no shoes.

We are not lacking dreams. We are lacking opportunities.

It is our role as the FIA to give you those opportunities.

In Kampala they are dreaming of their first Karting Circuit. On a gravel surface to start with.

We have the passion in our blood.

What we need is fair play in our hearts.

(THIS IS WHERE MAX MOSLEY STOPPED MY SPEECH…!)

Our team represents a new kind of Presidency.  

A Presidency based on ethics, transparency, and simplicity.

On giving you, the owners, the full decision-making powers you should have.

A Presidency committed to one simple goal: giving us back our pride, our global respect.

His Royal Highness very kindly joked that he wanted FIA to stand for Faith In Ari.

In fact I think we are asking…for something different.

This is not about having faith …in Ari.

It is about having faith…in ourselves.

Thank you. Merci.