/ 19 January 2007

A Galaxy far, far away

As David Beckham leaves Real Madrid amidst the club's presidential Star Wars, Ramón Calderón's presidency hangs in the balance. He won an election last year on the narrowest of margins after postal votes were suspended by a court ruling because of serious irregularities. However, the embargo on those thousands of votes will soon be lifted by a Madrid judge.

As David Beckham leaves Real Madrid amidst the club’s presidential Star Wars, Ramón Calderón’s presidency hangs in the balance. He won an election last year on the narrowest of margins after postal votes were suspended by a court ruling because of serious irregularities. However, the embargo on those thousands of votes will soon be lifted by a Madrid judge.

Calderón’s victory followed the resignation of the fallen architect of the galáctico model, Florentino Pérez, and the disastrous 59-day tenure of his successor, Fernando Martín. But he won only by the narrowest of margins — 246 votes over the second-placed candidate, 1 362 over the third — and less than 25% of the vote.

Of even greater significance was that Calderón won solely on votes cast at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium because of the court ruling.

Individual candidates had been able to collect their own postal votes at rallies and meetings or via free gifts sent to club members, while other votes appeared to have been simply forged: the same member voting for a candidate numerous times; stacks of votes in envelopes, all suspiciously in perfect sequential order, arriving at the Bernabéu at the same time, still held together by a tell-tale elastic band; members having officially voted when, in fact, they did no such thing.

Accusations were primarily levelled at the two candidates who came second and third: Juan Palacios and Juan Miguel Villar Mir, the man who enjoyed the hidden backing of Pérez. With the postal vote suspended, Madrid’s electoral committee was, after some hesitation, obliged to declare Calderón the winner.

But, on January 29, the postal vote sacks will be opened and when they are counted Calderón is unlikely to come out on top. Villar Mir and Palacios have already declared themselves unofficial victors of the ”full” vote and Calderón knows he gathered fewer postal votes than his opponents. He would be forced to step down or, more likely, concede the need for fresh elections.

It is the very provisional nature of Calderón’s position that places him in a permanent state of campaigning, travelling the country to visit supporters’ clubs, trying to drum up a power base for new elections, which also explains the appearance of perfectly sized banners ”spontaneously” hung round the stadium declaring support for the president.

But the more Calderón tries to project his image, the less control he has. That, too, underpins his position on David Beckham and Jose Mourinho.

He is not so much disappointed at losing Beckham as furious to have been made to look foolish, having repeatedly announced that Beckham was on the point of signing a contract renewal to keep him in Madrid for the rest of his career.

Instead, the Englishman, who had been equally insistent he would stay, decided to go to the United States to play for the LA Galaxy.

Calderón feels cheated. Worse still, he looks powerless and feels he has suffered a very public defeat. That is why his response has been to try to claw back some sort of victory, however hollow. By forcing Beckham out, by hanging on for a transfer fee and playing hard-ball, he has found himself a handy scapegoat and offered himself the chance to win the next round and gain the illusion of power.

For the time being, at least, Calderón has to stand by Fabio Capello, so wedded to the Italian was his election campaign. But stories that Mourinho could take over do him no harm. For Calderón to be seen as capable of getting Mourinho adds to his credibility. And if Capello wins nothing and elections are forced, Calderón knows that Mourinho is a vote winner.

There is genuine unease at Madrid — a club which, however absurdly, claims to act correctly — about Mourinho’s character. But the fans would love his Barça-baiting and he would be the popular choice.

For Calderón, at the moment, popularity is all. — Â