Performing in the clutch

Unhappy fans barricade Jatrabari Road after electricity goes out 10 minutes into the Argentina vs. Nigeria match. Photo: K M Asad/ Driknews

THE mantra of the government is that they have everything under control. There is nothing to worry about. There is method to their madness.
It is even possible that this optimism is warranted. Perhaps the government really does have a medium to long-term plan in place. Perhaps the various crises that bedevil us will be resolved in the next few years, and that as the next elections roll around the country will be happy and healthy.
It could, of course, be that the government is quite unable to handle the accumulated mess that it has inherited (and is now adding to) and that three years down the line it will still have precious little to show.
How do we tell whether the government is really up to the task, and that it is, slowly but surely, doing what needs to be done (the government's position), and not that the government is out of its depth and that it has no ability whatsoever to resolve any of the nation's crises (as one increasingly suspects)?
Well, one way is to see how it does when it really counts, when it must perform, when delivery cannot be kicked down the line to some indeterminate time in the future.
The World Cup thus provides a telling case study of the government's ability to deliver.
The tournament is, in fact, a boon for any Bangladesh government. It is relatively affordable and accessible entertainment that keeps the population reasonably content and their minds off their other problems.
A good tournament is good for Bangladesh. Indeed, if either Brazil or Argentina run out eventual winners, it would probably have almost as much of a positive effect on the national psyche as if Bangladesh were to win.
All you really need to do is to ensure that the power supply remains steady throughout the games so that there is nothing to interrupt our viewing pleasure. However, even on this count, the government seems to be falling short.
The World Cup comes along only every four years and the next one won't be until after the next elections. In this election cycle, the AL won't get another bite at the apple. This is it. If it screws up the World Cup, there is no do-over.
And the government knows this. It knows what is at stake here. You would have to be blind and deaf not to understand the importance of the World Cup to the average Bangladeshi, and even this government is not that clueless.
It is fair to say that the government's popularity, at least over the next month, depends on nothing so much as it does on supplying sufficient power to allow people to watch the World Cup in peace.
So, how has the government performed so far, in the clutch? Not so well, it has to be said. Despite its presumably best efforts, power is still going off during games. And if the government can't guarantee uninterrupted power to watch the World Cup, what is it good for?
Already there have been reports of power stations attacked by thwarted fans. If the government doesn't fix this problem, and fast, then it really is going to be in trouble.
People can live without lights and fans and refrigeration. And we can live with hours upon hours of sweaty load-shedding every day. But live without the World Cup? Now you go too far.
This is not a problem that can be solved down the line. It needs to be solved now. The murmurings that the government is out of its depth will gain traction if it fumbles the World Cup.
Even if power is plentiful in two years time, people won't forget. And with the next World Cup in 2014 just after the next election, it will be a potent campaign theme.
Forget about a chicken in every pot and car in every garage. Anyone credibly promising to deliver a World Cup without power-cuts will have a ready-made campaign theme.
In vain will the government then try to argue that it is steps that it has taken that will allow an incoming government to reap the benefits of its foresight.
All people will remember is that the government couldn't deliver when it counted.
Then again, it is still early days. Just as the top teams haven't yet shown up to play, it is possible that the government, too, is finding its feet, and waiting to unleash its A game.
Perhaps the government is pacing itself for the length of the tournament, and will get better. Like, ahem, Spain. Well, all I can say is that it better get a move on.
It's all very well pacing yourself for the final. But if your performance is so dismal that you don't even make it out of the first round, then it will all be for naught.

Zafar Sobhan is Editor, Editorial & Op-Ed, The Daily Star.