Unions and politics: The devil is in the details

Reports say the union has just announced that it will be a player in the 2014 elections through a partnership with a yet to be identified political party.  Moreover, the union says it has decided to engage in active politics, but dismisses the ruling Botswana Democratic Party (BDP) as a partner.  After such a bold announcement, the union must be aware that there are pitfalls lying ahead.

For BLLAHWU, the devil is in the details.  The union has members with different political affiliations, hence its dalliance with a chosen political partner might alienate some of its constituency.  It will be interesting to see how BLLAHWU negotiates this challenge should it arise.  Once the union has become clearly partisan, the ruling party might use this as an excuse to resist its demands however genuine.  The ruling party will always see the union's activities as those of the party it has partnered with.