Wish you were there?
Monday, May 28, 2007

Whoppee! It's the Whistun break and our hard-working politicians are enjoying a week in the sun. All except those who've decided to holiday in Wales, that is.

So what's the state of the nation? Well, it's a complete and utter shambles. Good job, bring on the Pina Coladas.

On Friday, Rhodri Morgan became first minister of a minority Labour administration. On Saturday, the Lib Dems voted to pursue a rainbow coalition with Plaid and the Tories which would necessitate his removal.

The ball is now very much in Plaid's court. But rather than smash it down the line for a winner, Ieuan Wyn Jones is hanging on to it for a game of keepie uppies.

The noises coming from the Plaid camp are that they now have time to discuss the rainbow option in earnest. I was on a panel with Rhodri Glyn Thomas the other day and he suggested they wouldn't necessarily need to make a move before the summer. Speaking on yesterday's Maniffesto programme, Ieuan Wyn Jones implied that the party's national council wouldn't even be discussing the proposals until July.

In the meantime, Rhodri Morgan will announce a cabinet and get on with the job. But he is a first minister on probation in charge of a government in paralysis. Plaid should beware, however. The longer he's in charge, the more difficult it will be to remove him.

Mathematically and constitutionally, Plaid can take as long as they like. But realistically, they will need a bloody good reason. We're not used to putsch politics here in Wales. Coups are for chickens, not for Cardiff Bay.

It may be possible for the opposition parties to engineer disquiet over hospital reconfiguration or the budget which would prompt a vote of no confidence. But they would be taking power in very different circumstances then compared to now.

At the moment, the election still isn't too far gone. A cabinet hasn't been named and the machinery of administration is still in cold storage. Moreover, the rainbow is still widely seen as an alternative to Labour rather than a calculated plot to oust the government. People may not look upon the idea so favourably in a few months time.

But while the Lib Dems and the Tories have now played their hand, let's not forget that Plaid have emerged strengthened. For the next couple of weeks, at least, they have the threat of the rainbow to keep Labour on its toes. A red-green deal is not out of the question.

And yet there's still that glint in Ieuan Wyn Jones' eyes which suggests he's keen to govern. If that's so, there's nothing to stop him moving fast. Otherwise, there's every danger the assembly will be a national joke by the time he finally makes his move. This comedy of errors has gone on quite long enough.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 12:32 am, ,


Plaid AM in search of the blatantly obvious
Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Rhodri Glyn Thomas is the sort of man who looks like he'd open another bottle of wine at three in the morning. But he also seems to be the type of chap who puts two and two together and gets a bizarre polemic.

That's what has happened in his latest (rare) blog post.

"Where in the media is the space for people to talk about decisions that affect their lives?" he asks.

"We are living in a time when people are taking control of their media but we haven’t got the platform to do this in Wales," he writes. On his BLOG. Free, and available to all. A space to, err, take control of their media and talk about decisions that affect their lives.

And for those of you who are already reaching for the standard 'only half of Welsh homes have broadband' retort, let's be clear. That's still an awful lot more people than read the Western Mail.

But Rhodri saves the best till last. At the end of his rant about the the top-down Welsh media and the lack of space for normal people to talk back, we get this little gem: "comments are closed".

Is there really space in Welsh public life for two gaffe-prone Rhodris?

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posted by Blamerbell @ 7:04 am, ,


Hallelujah! Rhodri blogs
Monday, February 12, 2007

Plaid's Rhodri Glyn Thomas has clearly been very busy in the past three months. He has, however, had time to bark at Peter Hain. He's had time to bring Adam Price MP to the verge of a heart attack. And he's even had time to completely forget why he was so angry at Labour and talk instead about how they're the perfect partners for government.

But he hasn't had time to blog, until now.

Welcome back.

What next, a New Year message from Alun Davies?

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posted by Blamerbell @ 6:17 pm, ,


The charge against Carl Sargeant
Thursday, January 25, 2007

I note that a few people have put a link to Carl Sargeant's blog in their sidebars.

But is he still blogging? On November 25th I pointed out that he'd been on a bit of a break since his inaugural three posts.

Then, on December 6th he told me: "I did recently create a blog site but to be honest , finding the time to update it is a nightmare."

The sort of nightmare in which you lose all access to computers perhaps?

Anyway, I'm removing Carl and Rhodri 'put your foot in it' Glyn Thomas from my blogroll if they don't get started by the end of the month.

Huw Lewis recently got back to his blog (albeit with a quip at one of his constituents), after I drew attention to his extended absence.

A blog is, after all, a conversation with potential voters. When someone visits a blog which hasn't been updated it's as if they've walked into a room with someone who's deliberately playing mute. Ignore the electorate at your peril.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 4:41 pm, ,


New blog #001 - Rhodri Glyn Thomas
Friday, December 01, 2006

The Assembly has another blogging AM. I spotted a link to Rhodri Glyn Thomas's blog on Adam Price's site.

Only two posts, so far, and both in Welsh.

If he says anything interesting, I'll translate.

The one thing I've noticed so far is that Welsh speakers refer to Rhodri Morgan as 'y prif weinidog.' This translates as 'Prime Minister' rather than 'First Minister,' which is usually used in English.

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posted by Blamerbell @ 1:52 pm, ,