One member after another begs Thomas Bach to stay in office. This contradicts the Olympic Charter. But with so much affection: What should the president do? About a lesson in power politics that even impressed Gianni Infantino.
Sunday morning in Mumbai, the 141st session of the Olympic family is just a few minutes old, and things are getting bizarre. Morinari Watanabe, World President of the Gymnastics and IOC member from Japan, read a fiery declaration of love flawlessly from the page, which ended in the logical confession: “I love you, President Bach!”, the German business lawyer, in turn, reacted with appropriate emotion: “Thank you for your love!” – there is movement in the congress hall of the huge “Nita Mukesh Ambani Cultural Center”. It rumbles and rumbles as four men struggle to maneuver a gigantic, three-meter-high bouquet of pink roses towards the meeting room. But no: The sea of flowers is not the passionate Japanese’s morning gift to the ring boss. The show only serves to close the last gap in the festival decorations, which allowed the TV cameras waiting in front of the hall to capture a bit of the Olympic colors.