Friday, June 18, 2010

WELCOME RHODRI

Rhodri Morgan is joining the Western Mail as a weekly columnist and will write for the paper every Saturday.

The former First Minister said that he was looking forward to his new role immensely.

To quote,

“I’m going to take a very varied approach. Some of the time I will be looking forward over the next 10 years and sometimes I will be looking back over the past 10 years, when I’ve been so involved in leading Welsh political life. I’ll also be looking at all the things in Wales that don’t involve politics directly.”

According to the Western Mail, he has never had a newspaper column before.

Having been a columnist for the Western Mail since 2004, it is far more work than you think to come up with a different piece every week.

However, someone who has his amazing memory and the ability to quote every fact under the sun should have little problem in producing something that will be enjoyable to read and well written.

The danger, of course, is that the column will merely become a weekly advert for the Labour Party and the policies of the Welsh Assembly Government. If the former First Minister can avoid that temptation and take a more objective view of Welsh life through his vast experience and knowledge of Welsh life, then the column will be an outstanding success.

One thing I am sure of is that there will be completely differing viewpoints from the Western Mail's two Saturday columnists when it comes to the state of the Welsh economy.

Should be fun!