Stakeholder

In a week when the media pack hounded Tony Blair over the justification for the Iraq War over fifty countries endorsed and funded an incentive and bribe package for terrorists. Of course, the bribe and buy strategy is a well trodden path here in Northern Ireland..

Watching Blair perform in the Chilcott Star Chamber one could not but help remark on his success as Labour Leader and Prime Minister. His leadership abilities are in stark contrast to those of his successor. There is a current leadership deficit in UK politics and the public while inclined for change; are not entirely convinced by a Conservative Party dominated by a front bench of inherited privilege and wealth.

Agree or disagree with Blair it’s hard to argue with the fact that he is an accomplished politician who has conviction. That conviction can be frightening at times but political conviction is better than political careerism.

Byron once wrote ‘Where is the world of the last eight years past! A silent change dissolves the glittering mass. Statesmen, chiefs, orators, queens, patriots, kings, And dandies are all gone on the winds wings’- a theme all too true of our last eight years.

Recently we have witnessed the most outrageous lack of leadership at Stormont when again the protagonists felt the need to call in the ‘parents’ and being indulgent, both the British and Irish Governments obliged. Throughout, the focus remained on the DUP and Sinn Fein and by and large all others were sidelined to support roles.

Within the week the SDLP who represent nearly one hundred thousand voters will choose a new leader. The SDLP, who with the Ulster Unionists – if the latter can prevent itself from its predilection for backsliding under the umbrella of unionist unity – could provide an alternative leadership choice to the all party coalition.

Thus, SDLP delegates have a heavy task on their shoulders, not just for the party but for all.

Many of the four hundred delegates are of a generation who remember the ‘lost years of the ‘70’s and 80’s but who stuck with the project under the leadership of Hume and Mallon. They eventually witnessed the Nirvana of the Good Friday Agreement; only to see their hard won political spoils disappear like snow of a ditch.

Over the past eight years, the SDLP has declined not just electorally but organisationally and financially. Largely out of loyalty and fraternity, early warning signals were ignored and political denial set in.

Therefore the recent ills of the SDLP cannot be solely laid at the door of the out-going Leader, Mark Durkan who is both capable and intelligent. The rise and fall of the SDLP is a result of a combination of internal and external factors.  Its pointless rehearsing the reasons – the party is where it is.

Now delegates are presented with two credible candidates albeit with different offerings.

Delegates are tasked with making a choice – which once cast is irreversible. While it will be impossible to achieve the glory days that once encompassed just under 200,000 voters; a successful candidate has to present a credible pitch to regain a threshold of 125,000 voters by the 2011 Assembly elections.  No mean feat.

To achieve that objective in an heir presumptive, SDLP delegates need a consciousness way beyond their own feudal and geographical loyalties to a much wider understanding of where those ‘lost’ voters live and what appeals to them.

Respectfully, delegates may want to consider a simple three question litmus test:

1. Against a difficult electoral back-drop and potential short-term losses which of the potential contenders has the ability to energise the party grassroots, bolster membership and provide much needed confidence?
2. Against a back-drop of financial turmoil which candidate has the most fundraising capability in order to address the organisational and resource difficulties of the Party?
3. Finally, which candidate can best articulate the strategies which will enable the party to maximise its appeal in terms of economic, social and political outlook both within the North and Ireland?

The SDLP delegates may find it difficult to find a candidate who can tick all three boxes but at this stage any combination of two may suffice. SDLP type politics has a defining role to play in Irish politics and unlike the Progressive Democrats- their time is not yet up. Being mindful of Lord Byron’s exhortation ‘I knew that nought was lasting, but now even change grows too changeable without being new’. For party and society, the SDLP desperately need a change that’s truly new.