|
|
|
|
||
|
Articles
|
||
|
Articles
|
Pride!Dateline: 26th March, 2006 Pride, we are told, goes before a fall. If that is the case, what should follow monumental arrogance of the kind exhibited by Alun Pugh in refusing to name the successor to Geraint Talfan Davies as chair of the Arts Council of Wales, even to members of the Welsh Assembly Government's culture committee? This row between the Welsh arts world and the Welsh Assembly Government gets more idiotic almost by the minute. The attitude of Alun Pugh and the WAG bears a much greater resemblance to the sort of "It's my ball and I'll say who can play with it" playground squabbling that goes on in local councils than the (at least surface) gravitas one expects from the government of a country. It was therefore refreshing to see Peter Hain - who is responsible to the House of Commons for Welsh affairs - re-affirming the importance of the arm's-length principle of funding. One hopes that his fellow Labour party members in Wales and Scotland will take note. However the signs (and not just in the arts) are that both the WAG and the Scottish Parliament intend to plough their own furrows and, instead of following the devolution lead which established them in the first place, are intent on grabbing as much power for themselves as possible. The WAG has aleady lost the confidence of the entire Welsh arts community but seems totally uncaring of the fact. Rule by diktat rather than concensus seems to be their preferred modus operandi, a policy which will, in the long run, not only fail but act against them in the future. One hopes that they're watching closely in Scotland where the Parliament has already taken the first steps in the same direction!
|
|
|
|