The dominating issue in the National Assembly today has been tomorrow's vote on the Government's Final Budget. At the moment, it looks as if the Government is going to lose the vote. If this were to happen, Rhodri Morgan should resign immediately and the AMs who voted down his budget should be prepared to put together some sort of 'caretaker arrangement' to take us through to the Assembly election. But it seems that Rhodri has made it clear that he is going to sit tight. But who knows? Carwyn Jones and Andrew Davies must be on tenterhooks - preparing themselves for a leadership election which would surely follow a resignation. The depressing aspect of all this is that our Assembly is left looking like a Mickey Mouse Parliament. If a Government loses its budget, it should resign, full stop.
But is Ieuan Wyn Jones going to save Rhodri's skin? Poor old Ieuan has gone all sensitive on us - always a mistake in politics. I'm told that since I referred to him last week as 'Wobbly' Wyn Jones and as the Hokey Kokey King of Welsh Politics, he's become so upset that he is no longer willing to work with the Tories at all. He's ditched the Lib-Dems as well. This is a bit of a gamble. All this afternoon he has been trying to rescue the position by working on the Labour Government to give him a bit of extra money so that he can claim that he has acheived some great victory- which would enable him to let the budget through tomorrow. I have always had a soft spot for Plaid Cymru and things looked so bad for them in the Chamber today when Ieuan was forced to concede a 'free vote' on some issue (because his members would not back him) that I began to feel sorry for them.
So onwards to tomorrow's debate. Will Plaid do a deal and let Labour off the hook? Will Labour be defeated on its budget? Will Rhodri Morgan resign if he loses? Will we all look even more stupid by having to come back again next week for another go at it? It is all such a shambles at the moment that I do not think anyone knows the answer to any of these questions. Politics is an unpredictable business.
6 comments:
This sense of disbelief with Plaid Cymru seems to be shared by many bloggers at the moment. As your Labour opponent Alun Davies writes in his blog, Ieuan Wyn Jones "is also appealing to Labour to talk privately. We may do so. But how do you negotiate with someone whose credibility is in shreds?"
I saw Judas oops I mean Ieuan this morning with his bag of gold dangling from his belt loops. He looks like the cat that got the 'soured' cream. The Media were hovvering around him looking for 'that' exclusive story to tell with the headline -'Just why did Ieuan jump ship and swim away with the rats'?
It would seem that Plaid Cymru have no morals when it comes to their own self interest. The people of Wales should feel that they have been let down in the extreme by a party who is only interested in itself. Ieuan Wyn Jones has about as much spine as a worm and is frightened of the AM’s in his Group. His capacity as a leader is of as much use a wooden figurehead on the old sailing ships. The people of Wales will be voting with their feet next May and the number of Plaid Cymru AM’s will be drastically reduced. Their support will dwindle back to the days of the died in wool Nationalists who want only independence and nothing less. The more forward looking voters will return back to their roots in the Conservative Party and Plaid will be lucky to remain as the third biggest party in the Assembly.
The budget vote simply reflects practical politics, but some people (!) look very stupid having shared a media platform last week to declare the end of Rhodri - and then see the budget delivered today. Who is off eho's Christmas card list ?
Labour AMs have seen through him:
http://leightonandrews.typepad.com/leighton_andrews_am/2006/12/how_much_is_tha.html
Plaid Cymru quite simply are afraid of power. Going with Nick Bourne and the leading Conservative team and those minor parties such as the Liberals would have given them a chance at a real stab at power. Unfortunately, Plaid Cymru are so used to not being taken seriously, that they cannot act in their own best interests.
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