Wednesday, February 25, 2004
Press blunder No. 1 - The Tories
Those who live by the sword die by the sword. The Welsh Conservatives in the Assembly are notorious for jumping on any bandwagon going. It was no surprise therefore to see them gleefully grab the opportunity to criticise the Assembly Minister for Culture, Sport and the Welsh Language for accepting hospitality from MacDonalds. Alun Pugh has made his name recently by calling for lots of exercise and healthy eating so as to combat obesity amongst Welsh children. It was strange therefore to see him rubbing shoulders at a sporting event with executives from a fast food chain whose business contributes significantly to that problem. Now I can criticise him for that as I have not committed the same faux pas, but there were red faces all round in Welsh Tory offices when, having fired off a typically acerbic press release on behalf of their Welsh Leader, they find that Mr. Pugh had been joined by two Tory AMs at the event. I have a rule nowadays not to accept corporate hospitality unless the event is exceptional, perhaps the Conservatives should adopt the same criteria so as to avoid more embarrassment in the future.
