By Lloyd Mackey

IT HAS been interesting, over the past several days, to listen to several people talking about Afghanistan and Canada's role there, in terms of "success" rather than "victory."

That kind of language was coming, particularly, from John Manley, former Liberal deputy prime minister, who was chosen by Prime Minister Stephen Harper, two years ago, to head the Independent Panel on Canada's Future Role in Afghanistan.

The prime minister, himself, has emulated some of that language in talking about Canada's current and future military activities.

I would suggest that the "success" language is not totally accidental.

And, while it relates to the military and foreign affairs context, it has other potential applications in the democratic and conflict management processes. And it is part of the larger global picture as well -- to wit: US President Barack Obama's recent Cairo speech. In that address, he drew on his early Islamic education to try to create some understanding between western-based Christianity (of which the US continues, arguments to the contrary, to be a part) and the more easterly world of Islam.

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That, in the language of baseball, is the long slow curve.

Now for the hopefully devastating fast break. (This is the point where, if I was sending an e-mail, I would write "Smile!" because I am speaking with my tongue partly in cheek.)

The application of "success" thinking comes out of the idea of "win-win" -- where counsellors and negotiators work at bringing together people of goodwill to accomplish goals of common interest.

There is one place where I would like to see a little goodwill extension. It would be from the opposition leader, one Michael Ignatieff.

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Quite frequently, the prime minister, between bouts of "tough guy" talk, extends his hand, figuratively, to the opposition leader. He asks -- quite sincerely, I believe -- for the opposition leader's advice in the enacting of legislation.

And the opposition leader usually replies with words like: "Don't ask me how to do your job. I will save that for when I am prime minister."

Now, it is true that one of the legitimate roles of the opposition, in our adversarial system, is to be the "government-in-waiting."

But there is nothing in that system to prevent, in theory at least, the willingness of the opposition leader to build goodwill for himself, by working collaboratively with the prime minister.

True, the opposition leader might believe that if he is the "nice guy" too often, he may end up finishing second.

But would it not be better to contribute to his own success, even if it falls short of the highest pinnacle, by helping the prime minister to be more successful, in completing the task for which his party was presumably given a larger number of seats in the last election?

Just asking.

If nothing else, it would cause those young people sitting in the House of Commons galleries each day to gain some useful role models in conflict resolution.

And it would provide some answers to prayer for those folk who consider it their ministry to pray, each day they attend question period, that governance will be both peaceable and effective.

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Lloyd Mackey is a member of the Canadian Parliamentary Press Gallery in Ottawa and author of Stephen Harper: The Case for Collaborative Governance (ECW Press, 2006), More Faithful Than We Think: Stories and Insights on Canadian Leaders Doing Politics Christianly (BayRidge Books, 2005) and Like Father, Like Son: Ernest Manning and Preston Manning (ECW Press, 1997). Lloyd can be reached at lmackey@canadianchristianity.com.

June 11/2009