On the topic of Real Madrid elections…

In the face of the crisis currently affecting Real Madrid some people are talking about elections. Perhaps this idea has something to do with the conditioned reflex madridismo has developed in recent years of looking across at Barca to compare notes, as used to be the case albeit the other way round. Florentino’s rein has provided us with this role reversal: now Madrid’s benchmark is Barca, when for a long time Barca’s benchmark was Madrid. You’ll remember that last January, following a defeat at Anoeta, Bartomeu called elections and thus quelled the brewing storm of discontent. That harmony allowed Barca to reassert themselves and they ended up winning everything. Having an election on the horizon unshackled the club.

The bad news for Madrid of course is that no one expects ‘a real’ election because the assembly – a well organised group that is diligently supervised by Florentino – made it so that any potential candidates could only put their names forward by adhering to a list of draconian conditions: Twenty years of uninterrupted membership plus an ability to front a preposterously large financial guarantee, with no third-party help. By the way, Florentino and his loyal band of cronies didn’t have to front this financial guarantee as they were already in position. Not even Vicente Boluda, still a year and a half away from meeting the twenty-year membership requirement, is able to present his candidacy under these conditions. Santiago Bernabéu himself, were he still alive today, would also be ineligible to run. The legendary president was not filthy rich.

But if there are elections now, those who want to return the power of the club to the members need to start mobilising and electing delegates. 29 delegates are chosen from every thousand members. Those looking to repeal the aforementioned restrictive stipulations (one group gave it a go in court but lost their case before appealed the decision) must first fight for an assembly seat. The club’s website explains the process. It’s a complicated course of action because the powers that be have such a strong hold on the institution. However, while it might be a long journey to embark on, it’s the only available option. The only other recourse members have is protesting at the Bernabéu, which is a good way to vent one’s anger, but doesn’t serve any other purpose.