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“Intensity of purpose.” That’s what Richard Holbrooke created when he brokered an agreement between the warring parties in Bosnia, ending 3.5 years of war. We need some intensity of purpose now. #Brexit 1/
First, he brought all the warring parties together in isolation on an airbase in Dayton, Ohio. There’s literally nothing to do in Dayton. Whatever reason you’re there, you get it done and get out. It focused minds. 2/
Second, he sidelined any voices that weren’t going to help agree a solution. The British, French, Russians and Germans sat on the sidelines, because no matter how important they felt they were, they weren’t important. 3/
Third, he banned participants from speaking to the press. This prevented “negotiation by media”. What was said in the room was the only thing that mattered. 4/
Fourth, he understood that politics is personalities. In such close proximity, you can only keep up a front for so long. It’s the Big Brother House - a bunch of smart monkeys in a cage together slowly surrendering to their social urges. He observed and built on natural rapport 5/
Fifth, he had a big stick and wasn’t shy about using it. For the Serbs, it was the threat of being bombed again. For the Bosnians, it was the fear the Americans would abandon them. It kept everyone honest, even the war criminals. 6/
Sixth was Holbrooke himself. A tough, smart, pragmatic honest broker to run the process. Sadly, we can’t have him. But the other principles could apply. 7/
First, all the parties need to participate. We’re looking at you, Jeremy Corbyn. It’s time to negotiate terms, not preconditions. A more cynical observer might think you were taking the piss. 8/
Second, we need to keep the unhelpful voices out of it. The likes of Nigel Farage and Tony Blair have no constituency. We need to exclude them from the room. 9/
Third, there should be no negotiation by media. No briefings, no press conferences, no leaks. Not because the Fourth Estate doesn’t have the right to know, but because the meaningful dialogue needs to be between the participants and no-one else. 10/
Fourth, lock the doors. One 15 min stint with the PM won’t cut it. Bang them up in a big room in Westminster together. These people need to clear the slate, get some shitty catering in and spend serious face time together. 11/
Fifth, keep the big stick on the table. For one side, it’s No Brexit. For the other it’s Hard Brexit. The solution is somewhere between the two, but you need the threat of both to clarify minds about what really matters. 12/
Of course, the downside of Dayton was that while it stopped the killing, it set in stone the differences that led to it. Bosnia remains as divided as ever. How we heal once an agreement is reached is a big question and one for a different thread. 13/
