Guessing games

As the Assembly nears its nine week recess, so the annual ritual commences of guessing which minister will slip in a policy shift whilst the troops are on hols. Initial betting is on finance man Andrew Davies. A few think he used a recent interview with the Beeb to soften the ground in advance of a forced landing of some key public sector reforms in order to placate the remaining rump of trade union support. An announcement during recess would mean being able to avoid pointed accusations in the Siambr of a u-turn.

Other money is on an anticipated flash-mob by the burgeoning horde of health quangos who reportedly have a backlog of expensive and controversial decisions waiting to be dropped with the media from next Monday onwards. A minority suspect that Jane Davidson might use the ‘quiet’ period to pull something out of her biodegradable handbag which surprisingly doesn’t cost 15 pence.

But as far as the pobol y cwm of Cardiff Bay are concerned, the focus will be on the Heads of the Valleys or rather the super-sensitive ministerial advice that deputy first minister Ieuan Wyn Jones has refused to release to his colleagues until the end of term. An action which has so much caused outrage – some of it almost genuine.

With all this stress and excitement, it’s no wonder that the poor dears need a good long break.