Olympia
The Austrian Olympic Committee (ÖOC) is trying to solve the escalated cause of the new elections in the previous week without further damage to the image. A new election committee is to be formed by June 14th. The proposal to fill the board of twelve members around ÖOC President Karl Stoss, who is a candidate for re-election, must be approved by the general meeting in autumn.
The previous election committee was dismissed last Thursday by a majority vote by the current board, which had originally appointed it itself. The background to the conflict, which has been smoldering for a long time, is the controversial reorganization of the ÖOC leadership with some new names instead of veteran representatives.
Added to this is the power struggle between winter and summer sports associations and the participation of athletes’ representatives. Stoss took the fact that media reports had made the proposal of the electoral committee public in advance as an opportunity to have the committee dismissed with the help of the current board.
ÖOC power struggle continues
The power struggle for board positions in the Austrian Olympic Committee (ÖOC) continues. After the vote of no confidence in the electoral committee, a new one must now be formed. The tug-of-war over the composition of this body is still in its infancy.
Stoss will comment on Monday
Stoss will comment on the events, which are unique in ÖOC history, next Monday at a press event. The 66-year-old from Vorarlberg has been in office since 2009. As his close confidante, Peter Mennel, General Secretary, manages the business of the ÖOC together with Florian Gosch (Marketing) and Christoph Sieber (Sport).
At a press conference on Wednesday, Mennel did not want to comment on the turmoil surrounding the composition of the board and other backgrounds, but referred to the valuable work of the previous management body with Vice Presidents Peter Schröcksnadel, Otto Flum and Elisabeth Max-Theurer.
Necessary re-election
“It’s not my job to choose my board. All I can say is I am extremely pleased with the current Board of Directors over the past few years because they have placed the welfare of the athletes in their competitions at the center of their focus and that has to be recognised,” said Mennel.
In addition to the main focus on the well-being of the athletes, the good connections of the board should also be taken into account. “It is also extremely important for us to be able to fall back on Karl Stoss’ excellent international network if necessary, when you need it.” Stoss’ concern applies above all to the athletes, not least because of Due to the necessary involvement of the athletes’ representatives in the new election process, the additional round before the new election is unfortunately necessary, according to Mennel.
