Thursday, October 18, 2007

What's happened to Rhodri Glyn

I've always thought that Rhodri Glyn Thomas would make a fine Assembly Minister. He was certainly very good in opposition. And I so wanted him to be successful. But I've not been impressed by the way he's handling the fallout from the financial position of the Wales Millennium Centre - in fact, deeply unimpressed. His performance in the National Assembly yesterday was about as uninformative and unimpressive as you can get. He even roused our David Melding to his withering best - as follows (I've filched this from Peter Black's blog.)

"It is extraordinary that a Minister comes to the Assembly Chamber to make a statement and then impugns those Members who are cheeky enough to hold him to account for what is being said. You are here to be scrutinised Minister. If your decisions are effective and the proper ones, all the scrutiny that we could bring to bear will just strengthen your position. What we are doing now will strengthen effective negotiation. It is a bit rich for you to say that these things as somehow not in the public realm. They clearly are."

I haven't included anything the Minister said because he said nothing worth repeating. Now, it takes a bit to invoke the ire of David Melding in this way. It was the sort of 'tell them nothing' attitude unusually employed by Rhodri Morgan or Jane Hutt. We had expected a bit more of the Edwina Hart or Carwyn Jones approach. Everyone understands that some things cannot be said. Nothing is gained by clamming up. And all of us are now left thinking the worst - and a lot less of Rhodri Glyn. The reason I decided to throw in my two pennyworth as well as so many others is that I hope he will take a bit of notice if he hears people who wish him well being seriously underwhelmed by his attitude.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

I am suprised that you rated him in the first place Glyn.
He has alays been one of the weakest people in Plaid.
More interested in his social life than being an effective AM.
Why IWJ choose him beats me - there are people far more able and qualified that him to take this portfolio.

Glyn Davies said...

Valley's mam - speak as you find. RGT was, in my experience and opinion, the best performer in the Debating Chamber. He was able to constuct an arguement very quickly and make a plausible case with very little ammunition. And he was always banging on about openness. His obstuctionist attitude in this case has greatly surprised and dissappointed me.

Anonymous said...

Be fair to Rhodri Glyn. He heads a department which really hasn't got much of a budget.It was cobbled together to give the Lib Dems acbinet position. It is obvious that for months officials must have known about the financial problems of the WMC. The leak to Dragon's Eye has the feel of an attempt to bounce the Assembly into handing over the money.

Glyn Davies said...

anon - all of this may be true - but that's not the point. I was commenting on how he handled the position. His 'obstuctionism' made the public concern much worse.