Carwyn Jones: The Most Successful Failure In Welsh Politics

Hello there. Hope you're feeling well today.

So I was driving home from work last night. Decided to listen to BBC Radio Five Live as there was some live Boxing coming up, but as it happens I'd turned on in time for the news. Remember now this is a UK wide station, so imagine my surprise when I heard as chief headline the words "Carwyn Jones..."

I knew then he was going to resign as Welsh First Minister, the announcer did not need to go on.

As I've said in a post earlier this week. Since the death of Carl Sargeant Carwyn Jones lost the one real skill he had which was being a politician. He probably knew this. Whether the Labour party in Wales knew this as well who knows? Did he go or was he pushed? Who knows? Who cares? Though it's worthwhile pointing out that should any of the enquiries going on concerning Mr Sargeant's death blame the current First Minister in any way, he will probably not be First Minister by the time they're published.

And before we chat about his career in his speech to the Welsh Labour conference yesterday he stated that no one knew the pressures put on his family in the past few months. No matter how truthful the remark it was nonetheless tactless because there would be no one who heard that who wouldn't be thinking about what Mr Sargeant's family have had to face in the past few months. At least Mr Jones' family still have a husband/father with them.

So then Mr Jones' record as First Minister. Was it good? Of course not. We start with the simple fact that he always seemed to lack stature on the political stage. When Nicola Sturgeon said something London listened. When Carwyn Jones said anything London yawned.

The Welsh economy is in a precarious state. It takes problems in key factories throughout Wales and immediately there could be regional disasters (such as what happened when it was proposed a few years back that the Port Talbot steelworks should be closed).To Westminster it appears that Wales is only good for investment as a nuclear mud dumping ground, a place to house monster prisons and a regal theme park. What is the reaction of the Welsh government? A mixture of the ineffectual and the servile. As a force for Wales the government under the current First Minister was useless.

The Health service have faced cuts and longer waiting times. Education in Wales is in such a bad state in international league tables that a LIBDEM is education minster. It's culture minister proposes that Wales the country should market itself as a Serfdom Principality and there's no murmurs from the First Minister.

His record as the local Assembly member for Bridgend is not great either. To this day I've no real idea on whether he has made any comments on some of the Welsh Labour council's mad policies that have so damaged the borough. Particularly the urban tragedy that is Bridgend Town. It's noticeable also that the council have often complained about their Welsh government grant.

So all Carwyn Jones really had was his skill, and it was a skill, as a politician. When that left him, there was really nothing else he could do.

Until the next time.