War . . . is the continuation of politics by other means. – Karl von Clausewitz, Prussian general and military theoristin On War (1833)
Debate continues to this day among scholars about what Karl von Clausewitz really meant by that remark.
And there is an almost as well known counter-quote by German military officer Hans von Seeckt (1866-1936) in his book Thoughts Of A Soldier (1929): War is not a continuation of policy. It is the breakdown of policy.
According to the literature, in his major work on strategy, Clausewitz suggested that rather than producing a rigid system of strategy, there should be a critical approach to strategic problems.
He also asserted that war was a tool for achieving political ends rather than an end in itself.
It must now be clear to all that for some time now, a major war has been under way in the Opposition Barbados Labour Party (BLP) for the hearts and minds of the rank and file and some might suggest even the very raison d’etre for its existence as a mass-based political organization.
In more recent times, that war has taken a novel approach with an attempt to harness the undeniable power of football as perhaps the most popular mass-based sport, especially among the young people, even in a supposedly cricket-crazy country like Barbados.
Prior to the 2008 general election, the Democratic Labour Party (DLP), under the leadership of the late David Thompson, embraced a strategy of being associated with community-based football tournaments which were endorsed by the Barbados Football Association (BFA) under the stewardship of Ronald Jones, who would later become Minister of Education.
The objectives were strictly political. They were based on the need to mobilize the football-loving younger voters across the communities, both rural and urban.
Throughout the region, most notably in Jamaica, combining sports (football) with politics has been popularized. Perhaps the best example of this may be former prime minister and leader of the Jamaica Labour Party, Eddie Seaga, who managed a popular football team in his constituency for well over 30 years.
Of more recent vintage, the jury is still out on Jones’ insistence on remaining as president of the BFA while serving in the Cabinet. This position is even more impressive in the face of recent events surrounding his friend and colleague politician, Minister of Works Jack Warner in the Kamla Persad-Bissessar administration in Trinidad and Tobago.
Whatever the reason, there is some benefit to be derived from mixing sports with politics, especially if it is community-based. The choice of football in countries far better known for their cricketing exploits is itself politically intriguing.
This brings me to the current semi-professional league now being played here and very much associated with the embattled former Opposition Leader Mia Mottley.
The structure of the tournament is community-based, with the difference being that each team is allowed access to five players who are deemed semi-professional or professional. In this sense, it is indeed different and when coupled with two or three chosen venues, the concept of the community is decentralized.
What is not decentralized is the core of the team which remains very much community-based. Perhaps the choice of the team managers is intended – even more so than the core of the team –?to truly associate the team with a community. This is where the tournament takes on its obvious political dimension that it could never have escaped, given the national face that so far has carried its public relations.
So there is an obvious political dimension to the hosting of the semi-professional league, but what about the not-so-obvious political dimension?
The broad-based nature for the support in the tournament is consistent with Mottley’s ongoing battle to broaden the base of the leadership support in the BLP following the breakdown in her relationship with a majority of parliamentary colleagues.
The broad intention is to have a one-man, one-vote policy rather than the delegates’ conference that is currently allowed by the party’s constitution, which is similar in this regard to the constitution of the ruling DLP.
It may appear far-fetched to suggest that there is some correlation between these apparently wide and varied events of internal party politics and community-based sports in the form of football.
Not so, they both derive their power from the same broad-based principle – of which Mottley must be acutely aware – one simply has a broader base than the other, but the bases are not exclusive.
There is no doubt that a well organized football tournament has the potential to energize football-loving supporters as well as provide a business opportunity for some entrepreneurs. It happened before in the form of the BESS (Barbados Entertainment Support Services) tournament which surprisingly did not have the legs to continue.
Perhaps this time around, a more structured tournament that has the support of corporate Barbados may be able to sustain itself.
So far, there are some corporate names associated with the venture which has a major political figure in the forefront. The ability of the tournament to satisfy the test of longevity is going to depend on its organizational structure.
The real key to longevity will be the quality of the football, which addresses the bigger picture of the structure of the game at the national level. However, as it relates to the LIME Pelican Football Challenge, a major key is the quality of the management of the individual teams.
For sure, choosing the most popular man on the block cannot be a recipe for effective management of a semi-professional team, which is where the collision between politics and professionalism occurs.
Unfortunately, once politicians are able to achieve their real objective, the lofty initial motivations for such initiatives will fall by the wayside.
Did we see any of the community-based football tournaments that were popularized prior to 2008 by the DLP and endorsed by the BFA survive? But the time is right for them to re-emerge.
Mottley’s move has even spawned a Government rival (an effort to dilute her impact?) with the controversial Constituency Councils reportedly set to host 30 football tournaments at an estimated cost of $335 000 in what is being called the David Thompson Memorial Football Competition.
There is a saying that everything a politician does in public is political. There is no reason to believe otherwise with respect to Mottley’s tournament, especially given the context in which she stated a claim for leadership of the BLP.
A series of events which culminated within the past week in a Taurus Rileyan royal cluster . . . appear to have aborted her leadership war campaign for the time being, but the future is still there.
There will always be opportunities to mix sports and politics. Mottley’s newfound approach to building bridges across the political aisle is in evidence, with a surprising show of support emanating from the ranks of the DLP.
The warm embrace, especially of the Minister of Finance, not only in Parliament but now in the political hustings as well, is either a sign of this new approach or an attempt to distance herself from certain BLP parliamentarians.
Whatever the plan, Mottley’s approach seems naïve, especially for someone who is highly regarded as a politician; naïve, in her manner of reaching across the aisle; naïve, in marginalizing critical members of Parliament and of revealing a surprising impatience.
Perhaps Mottley’s desire to broaden her sphere of influence is bolstered by a naive belief that her base exceeds that of the BLP.
