Monday, February 23, 2004
'nepotistic, tribal, secretive'
Rob Davies hits the nail on the head once more in his description of Welsh Labour in the Assembly. Announcing that he is to join John Marek's party, Forward Wales, he said "Labour at the Assembly has reverted to its worst kind of past behaviour in the Valleys. It is nepotistic, inward-looking, tribal, secretive and self-serving." The decision to join Forward Wales is not a surprise, I sort of predicted it on 25 January. The idea of a Forward Wales/Green Party pact in which Ron will stand on a joint ticket at the European Parliament elections in June stretches credibility a bit. I do not rule it out, after all both parties will thrive better together in organisational and fund-raising terms than if they stayed separate, however there will be a lot of egos that will need to be squared first. Perhaps that curry in Swansea at the end of last year was more significant than we thought. The Greens have already shown themselves ready to throw their hat in with anybody who suits their ambitions and in some cases to compromise their principles to get on. Their alliance with a politician convicted of corruption in the Cockett by-election showed that this was the case. As for Ron, well he has proved that he can still get the headlines but really, it is getting a bit Walter Mittyish.
