Meaning of political football | Babel Free

Definitions

1. A contentious political issue or problem that is often debated or discussed, but that remains unresolved; an issue or problem which is avoided by authorities and handed off to others.
   countable, idiomatic
2. Ongoing unproductive wrangling or posturing between political factions, resulting in failure to deal with an issue or problem in a decisive or appropriate way.
   idiomatic, uncountable

Equivalents

Examples

“Last week the most curious sidelight on Winston Churchill's recent trip to Italy was the revelation that Sicily was once again becoming a political football at the toe of the Italian boot.”

“It is a trial that no city in Florida wants to hold, a political football that has already bounced from Miami to Orlando to Tallahassee, back to Orlando.”

“Obtaining approval for West Coast Main Line electrification south of Crewe became a political football in 1960.”

“Throughout the month preceding Bruno Richard Hauptmann's electrocution, Carter had relentlessly goaded New Jersey's Governor Harold Giles Hoffman and his henchmen for playing political football with the...”

“The pope's visit to the Holy Land seemed to be a game of political football, with both the Israelis and the Palestinians claiming he was rooting for their team.”

CEFR level