First published on 26.05.2011.
The last few weeks have seen multiple falls from grace among prominent men. Indeed there is a serious competition for who has fallen the fastest! Under normal circumstances ex-California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger would grab the prize. In a unique script, Maria Shriver went on the Oprah show to tell her side of the drama – a story worthy of a Jackie Collins novel.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn arrested for an alleged rape case in New York. (Reauters)
Yet, having been in Paris for the last few days, the Schwarzenegger story is totally overwhelmed by the Dominique Strauss-Kahn or DSK story amid a scandal that reverberates well beyond a $3000 hotel room in NYC, with serious implications for the running of the IMF, the debt crisis in Greece and other European countries, and presidential politics in France,
The DHK story can be framed as an elite controversy, complete with a supportive wife (Anne Sinclair) who is a celebrity in France in her own right. But it penetrates society whether through an accusative (abuse of power) or defensive (he was framed by some unknown forces) theme.
Nonetheless, both the Schwarzenegger and the DHK case have another competitor for top billing. This is the scandal of a Manchester United player who reputedly not only had an affair with a minor celebrity but tried to have his lawyers to gag the voracious UK media from publishing the allegations, only to be outed by thousands of Twitter feeds (an interesting twist itself given the focus of the G8 on the Internet).
The magnitude of this story is magnified by the fact that Manchester United is playing in the Champions League Final this weekend against Barcelona. What jumps out for his blogger is the fundamental difference between the two teams in terms of image projection. Before turning to AON in 2009 Manchester United was sponsored by AIG, one the biggest ‘stars’ of the 2008 financial crisis. Barcelona by contrast has UNICEF on the team jersey. This has led to some jibes by other teams about the advantages of this ‘good guy’ status, an attitude most recently witnessed by the allegations from Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho’s that the UNICEF sponsorship led the European football association to favour Baecelona.
My view is that such a conspiracy view (no less that in the DHK case) is ridiculous! Support for a UN organization and worthy causes should be applauded. However, even Barcelona may suffer a fall from grace as its sponsorship with UNICEF runs out next year.
