Crown Prince Frederik - a candidate for the IOC?

[Tricota]

Acording to an article in the Danish Newspaper Politiken Thursday, Crown Prince Frederik has agreed to be the next Danish candidate, for the International Olympic Committee.

If elected he will follow Kai Holm, who says that he have been working on the idea for a few years now. Acording to the article, all parties have signed on to the idea, including The Minestry of Culture and The Prime Minister's Office, as well as the Queen and perhaps most importently Crown Prince Frederik himself.

The candidacy has also been "accepted" by the president of the IOC Jacques Rogge, who says he will support it, giving Frederik a good chance of being elected.

The Crown Prince has a few years to practice for the job, as the vote wont take place until the next IOC congress in 2009, conviniently hosted by the city of....Copenhagen...

http://politiken.dk/archive/00152/Ko..._f_152988c.jpg




Good luck, Freddy....

http://politiken.dk/sport/article182016.ece

[johann]

Thanks for informing us Tricota!
Nice idea. The IOC seems to be one of the favoured NGOs among royals. And since Frederik has a passion for sailing and seems to be rather sporty this could be a field of activity that releases his energies (..finally).
I’ll keep my fingers crossed.

[sesa]

But if this goes thru and he is offered the position, does this not mean that he will actually have to work......like on a daily basis???

[Tricota]

Originally Posted by sesa

But if this goes thru and he is offered the position, does this not mean that he will actually have to work......like on a daily basis???

I doubt that the work of an IOC member is overly stressful on a daily basis. In periodes it can be a bit hectic, but they normaly lead a very comftable life, with nice hotels and good food.

Anyways, what is wrong with work? And what is this idea that people have, the Frederik is lazy? Sure he likes to play, but he had worked fulltime (or studdied) for most of his adultlife...And I doubt anyone can quilify for the special forces in the army, if they are lazy...

[UserDane]

Originally Posted by Tricota

And what is this idea that people have, the Frederik is lazy? Sure he likes to play, but he had worked fulltime (or studdied) for most of his adultlife...And I doubt anyone can quilify for the special forces in the army, if they are lazy...

I agree with you Tricota; I don't get it why people are considered lazy when they don't appear non-stop in media coverage. Sounds to me like an urban legend of sorts about Frederik being lazy has been started on royalty forums. Surely, none of us seriously believe that royals only 'work' when there is a photographer nearby to take a picture of it? Doesn't bode well for most male royals in these days where there is so much focus on what the princesses are doing/wearing/weighing.....

[sesa]

Oh, relax people. I never said he does not work or that he is lazy. It was "implied". major difference. he could be as busy as a bee for all I care.
It just seems that for every 5 appearances that his wife does, he "may" do one appearance.
For all I know,they can do the same amount of appearances, but they publish Mary's appearances more than Fred's because they can comment on her clothes, hair, shoes, accessories, ect. ect. more than they can on Fred's.
Who knows, who cares......I'm just going off of what pictures and news is posted her from the media.

[Tricota]

Originally Posted by sesa

Oh, relax people. I never said he does not work or that he is lazy. It was "implied". major difference. he could be as busy as a bee for all I care.
It just seems that for every 5 appearances that his wife does, he "may" do one appearance.
For all I know,they can do the same amount of appearances, but they publish Mary's appearances more than Fred's because they can comment on her clothes, hair, shoes, accessories, ect. ect. more than they can on Fred's.
Who knows, who cares......I'm just going off of what pictures and news is posted her from the media.

I know, and perhaps I shhould have been more clear, but I was not just talking about you. It is something that i have read several times over the last few months, from people in other threads, and there is clearly someone who feels that he is lazy...

[KikkiB]

Originally Posted by Tricota

I doubt that the work of an IOC member is overly stressful on a daily basis. In periodes it can be a bit hectic, but they normaly lead a very comftable life, with nice hotels and good food.

Anyways, what is wrong with work? And what is this idea that people have, the Frederik is lazy? Sure he likes to play, but he had worked fulltime (or studdied) for most of his adultlife...And I doubt anyone can quilify for the special forces in the army, if they are lazy...

I agree with you. And why shouldn't CP Frederik manage it when CP Wilhelm Alexander has done it for many years for the Netherlands?

[UserDane]

Frederik's candidacy is front page news in Berlingske Tidende today; the commentary of the newspaper's sports reporter is that it is a unique chance for Denmark to keep the seat in IOC whic Denmark may otherwise lose once the present incumbent Kai Holm has to retire due to age.

The political comment from the newspaper is whether CP Frederik and his advisors have thought this scenario through sufficiently in view of the Danish royal family's completely non-political role - and not least in view of the entire IOC environment with frequent allegations of corruption, greed and commercialism.

But I personally think that if the Dutch CP can steer through this, Frederik should be able to as well.

By the way, in the interview Frederik is asked whether he can confirm that the former Danish IOC member, Niels Holst-Søren, tried to 'persuade a representative from the royal family to enter the IOC eight years ago'. Frederik replies 'Yes, I heard about it at the time. But it wasn't an idea I could support then. At the time I said that I would wait and see. At the time, the IOC was moreover even more politically disreputable so I decided not to comment on anything'
(my translation)

[sara1981]

A top position at the International Olympic Committee could be in the cards for Crown Prince Frederik
http://www.cphpost.dk/get/98290.html

[Australian]

That position sounds great. Good luck to Copenhagen on their bid for the Games!

[Fashionista100]

I disagree, he should be there. This is the Olympics, it is where the world is to set aside their differences and come together. It should not be made an arena for political statements, however right or wrong they are. Frederick is going to support the danes and represent the danes. As a royal he is expected to be above political things.

[T4phage]

Originally Posted by Fashionista100

I disagree, he should be there. This is the Olympics, it is where the world is to set aside their differences and come together. It should not be made an arena for political statements, however right or wrong they are. Frederick is going to support the danes and represent the danes. As a royal he is expected to be above political things.

That's a perfect way of putting it. If the DRF isn't allowed to take sides in politics, or interfere in politics, why should this situation be any different? Frederik is going to the Olympics to support his country, not to mention he enjoys sports so it's business and pleasure for him. (well perhaps not business, but he will be representing his country )

[GlitteringTiaras]

Originally Posted by Fashionista100

I disagree, he should be there. This is the Olympics, it is where the world is to set aside their differences and come together. It should not be made an arena for political statements, however right or wrong they are. Frederick is going to support the danes and represent the danes. As a royal he is expected to be above political things.

You're right.

Nonetheless, he is in a difficult situation especially since he wants to a member of the IOC. By attending he is also playing the political IOC "game." On the otherhand, if he doesn't attend it will look too political by snubbing the very people he desperately wants to be apart of.

Like I noted before, and again in another forum: I applaud the choice Prince Charles made.

Essentially, in the end, I sort of believe Frederik simply wants attend to support the Danish teams as well as signal to the IOC that he's desperately wants to be a member. I mean, afterall, it is an honor, right?

[norwegianne]

As I pointed out with the Norwegian royals attending (and as the Danish PM seems to agree with me on, in an article) - as long as the official Denmark sends athletes, the channels of diplomacy and trade remain open - Frederik would step outside his role as an apolitical figurehead, if he alone were to boycott it. Any diplomatic activity/negotiations with China from the official Denmark happens through the elected channels as it is today. If the Danish delegation were to withdraw, I'd agree that Frederik should do so as well, but as it is he's there primarily because of the Danish athletes. Denmark has an elected government to take stands, it has athletes who could take a stand - the only one who cannot do it because of the political implications, is actually Frederik, imo.

As the Danish Amnesty said: "It is a sporting event. If we were to criticize every time a sporting event was hold somewhere human rights were violated, we'd be very busy. As it is we're using the time during the Olympics to put the spotlight on the violations of human rights that happens in China."

[UserDane]

Originally Posted by norwegianne

As I pointed out with the Norwegian royals attending (and as the Danish PM seems to agree with me on, in an article) - as long as the official Denmark sends athletes, the channels of diplomacy and trade remain open - Frederik would step outside his role as an apolitical figurehead, if he alone were to boycott it. Any diplomatic activity/negotiations with China from the official Denmark happens through the elected channels as it is today. If the Danish delegation were to withdraw, I'd agree that Frederik should do so as well, but as it is he's there primarily because of the Danish athletes.

I couldn't agree more Norwegianne
I find the ongoing discussion in DK about royal attendence or not very weird - why send sports delegations to the games and then require the royals to take a differenct political stand - doesn't make sense IMO.

[Lilla]

Originally Posted by UserDane

I couldn't agree more Norwegianne
I find the ongoing discussion in DK about royal attendence or not very weird - why send sports delegations to the games and then require the royals to take a differenct political stand - doesn't make sense IMO.

I agree. If you say yes to the one you must say yes to the other as well. The problem isn't the royal attendance - Denmark should have decided not to send any sport delegation at all. Doing this is a complet contradiction to our fundamental views regarding human rights and freedom of speach.

[marmi]

I know that the 2000 Olympics are in the past, but as a tourism major I have been lectured on exactly this issue - CHina's human rights record and how keep it out of the media spotlight. It was also discussed that the Sydney 2000 olympics brought the same sort of thing to Australia (this time about the treatment of the aboriginal "stolen generation" - here's the Wikipedia entry for the stolen generation if you're interested.



Now - as far as my own opinion goes, I agree with the posters who pointed out that the olympics are a sports event - and it should stay that way. There are other ways to make political views known.

[Empress]

and yet again, The Olympics were created in order to keep a friendly non political channel open between all nations. It would be terrible for any country not to send a delegation.

Think of it this way, by the Olympics occuring in China, they have all that more attention thrown on the human rights violations than would have ever been the case. And, additionally, the Games offer the chance for people to come together and show that you do not need to violate human rights to have an orderly society.

The games should not be boycotted, because then the games themselves becoem an instrument of politics, and that would completely debase them.

[GlitteringTiaras]

Hm, well typically I'm alone here on this forum when it comes to my feelings about this situation and public figures attending these OG. I refuse to turn a blind eye; now I know how Prince Charles must be feeling.

Clearly the DA is playing the "game"/let's not upset anyone so we'll play the diplomatic card. Furthermore, the Olympics are filled with politics. Doesn't anyone find it strange that the Olympics promote the idea of "Peace and Harmony..." all warm fuzzy feelings towards each other...and this time it will take place... in China!?

Ohhhh the irony...