a political football

political | American Dictionary

political
adjective[ not gradable ]
us/pəˈlɪt̬·ɪ·kəl/
politics & government
relating to politics:
political parties
a political speech
Free trade is an ongoing political issue because it affects local employment rates.

politically

adverb[ not gradable ]us/pəˈlɪt̬·ɪ·kli/
politics & government
They encourage young people to become more politically active.

political | Business English

political
adjective
uk /pəˈlɪtɪkəl/us
GOVERNMENT, POLITICS
relating to politics:
The financial crisis will determine the new government's political agenda for the next few years.
She became a candidate for the leadership of a major political party.
There the unions still hold enormous political power and represent the majority of the population.
WORKPLACE
relating to getting or keeping power within a particular company, organization, etc.:
The move by the CEO was regarded by the majority of the management as being purely political.
It was a political decision, taken in order to cling on to power.

politically

adverb
The information was judged to be politically sensitive and was not published.

Examples of political

political
The government needed professional and politically-minded staff to take on the planned political development of the country over the long haul.
However, today this second category of players has much less economic, political and military leverage.
With pretense, disguise, and unreflective belief in disinterested philosophical analysis, philosophers can easily objectify the interests of certain power groups, whether scientific or political.
Starting from very different philosophical premises, they ended up arguing for very similar political goals.
The local press company may offer publications that cross-subsidize the provision of political information that supports the state.
While national leaders reluctantly accepted state reform, they steadfastly refused to consider any modification of their own highly centralised political party structures.
Thus, divided government can serve the interests of moderate voters, particularly in periods when political parties advocate extreme policies.
One viewed the community as an object - a network of interdependent systems, bureaucratic organizations, interest groups, political parties, and so forth, which is acted upon.
Other political parties have limited space in which to thrive.
Such elections require not only the active participation of political parties to ensure competition and form a government, but also to legitimise the government.
Political parties, despite their weaknesses and manipulation, are characteristic of liberal democracy.
The bone of contention is the section on registration of political parties.
They also held meetings with non-governmental organisations and the leaders of the major political parties.
On the other hand, vote mobilization by large interest groups can be no substitute for other linkages between political parties and voters.
Distinguishing between these two alternative hypotheses has important implications for the behaviour of political parties.
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