Friday 26 August 2016

Wales online decry Ministers attending Euro 2016. Why?

Its going to be strange  but I am not appalled by the Wasting Mule reporting that 
Thousands of Wales fans travelled to France to watch Euro 2016 – and thousands of pounds of Welsh taxpayers’ money was spent allowing our politicians to join them.
Figures released after a freedom of information request showed Welsh Governmentministers and a private secretary attended each of our first five tournament matches in an official capacity.
But political opponents said the money spent was “wasteful” – while questions have also been raised about what the trips actually achieved.
Health, well-being and sport secretary Vaughan Gething went to the group game against Slovakia in Bordeaux at a cost to the public purse of £1,775.
 Ken Skates , the economy and infrastructure secretary, attended Wales’ clash with Northern Ireland in Paris, with the bill for the visit totalling £1,606.25.Mr Skates had earlier been to Toulouse for the group game against Russia – a trip which he combined with an official visit to the nearby factory of Airbus, which is a major employer in Flintshire. That visit cost £3,087.79.
Conservative UK Government ministers were also at tournament, including Welsh Secretary Alun Cairns, but the cost of their trips was not part of this FOI request.( Wonder why)
Come on  Euro 2016 was the biggest ever showcase for Wales as a Nation and if the First Minister had not gone or been represented then the cry from the Mule would have been .
Where's the First Minister?
Asking how could we miss the opportunity of the goodwill won not only by the team itself but the incredible support of out Fans as well.
We are entitled to ask to what extent Carwyn and other Ministers used this opportunity  to promote Wales when they attended these games , But if it simply  created awkwardness that Wales has its own Government  which was open for business then a few thousand could have ben well worth it.
Such occasions as Euro 2016 was a rare opportunity for Wales to promote itself as a Nation rather submerged in the Unionist Team GB propogans.
There are so many reasons  for the Wasting Mule to attack the incompetent  and lethargic (it amazing you can mix the two) Welsh Labour Government.
But the Mule constantly fails to do this, Choosing instead to select a story which seems to show the whole Assembly in a bad light .
We can only wonder why they do this?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

No Glyn, no need to wonder why!

We know why they do it, we know why they talk Wales down, we know why they take every opportunity to create division where there is none, we know why the Assembly is anathema to them.

It's because anything that threatens their beloved Union cannot be tolerated.

Our success at Euro 2016 was a magnificent opportunity to put Wales on the international map, it was only right that representatives of our government attend the event.

And the cost - if you were a Tory MP, you probably couldn't buy a tidy duck house for that amount!

Leigh Richards said...

Does princess anne pay her own admission when she attends rugby matches? Or any of the royals who attend FA cup finals. Or the likes of david cameron when he was MP - or as you say alan cairns? Almost certainly not! In fact its doubtful government ministers in any country in the world pay to attend major sporting tournaments. So why should welsh government ministers be treated any differently?

Anonymous said...

No Glyn, no need to wonder why!

We know why they do it, we know why they talk Wales down, we know why they take every opportunity to create division where there is none, we know why the Assembly is anathema to them.

It's because anything that threatens their beloved Union cannot be tolerated.

Our success at Euro 2016 was a magnificent opportunity to put Wales on the international map, it was only right that representatives of our government attend the event.

And the cost - if you were a Tory MP, you probably couldn't buy a tidy duck house for that amount!

Anonymous said...

This is why the Mule’s nonsense claims to be the national newspapers fall down again, because the national interest in this story isn’t the clickbait of how much Minster’s travel cost to get to Wales matches, but what outcomes did Carwyn Jones and his Ministers get from their trips to France both in the short and medium term?

If Wales doesn’t get any boost in 3, 6 or 12 months’ time that’s the time to criticize the travel spending, but the Mule already know that and are more interested in generating clicks and sowing division in Wales.