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Monday, December 29, 2008

A right to privacy

So are things getting dirty in the yet-to-be-announced Wales Labour leadership contest or is there a concerted attempt by outsiders to seek to discredit the supposed front-runner?

I only ask because of a letter in this morning's Western Mail which is couched in near identical terms to two other missives that appeared in the same paper before Christmas.

This morning's contribution is as follows:

SIR – I do not wish this in any way to be considered an ad hominem attack, but the recent assertion by the counsel general (Carwyn Jones) at the National Assembly that he is a unionist at least raises one question.

How does he reconcile his unionism with his wife who advocates independence for Ireland?

MEURIG REES
Balen Ty Pant, Tredegar


To be frank this attempted attack on Carwyn Jones' integrity is not just clumsy and inept it is objectionable and it is difficult to understand why the Western Mail gave it or its two predecessors space.

Carwyn Jones is accountable for his own views and I do not have a brief to defend him or otherwise. I have no problem with all of Carwyn's collected works and speeches being examined for inconsistencies and him being scrutinised on them. That after all is what politics is partly about.

However, what has any of this got to do with the views of his wife. She is an individual in her own right and is perfectly at liberty to hold opinions at variance with those of her husband. How the two of them reconcile their differences of view, if they have any, is entirely a matter for them and absolutely nothing to do with us. What is more she is not even a public figure and is entitled to her privacy.

Carwyn Jones is not responsible for the views of his wife and she does not have to answer for him. The whole tone of these letters is positively neanderthal.
Comments:
"...this attempted attack on Carwyn Jones' integrity is not just clumsy and inept it is objectionable and it is difficult to understand why the Western Mail gave it or its two predecessors space."

I would suggest that it's the standard of journalism in the Western Mail, rather than some personal attack on Carwyn.

The alternative explanation is that there's a group within a group of the South Wales Labour Party that got it's knives out for Carwyn.

Perhaps someone from Labour could enlighten us?
 
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