... the poetry of friendship, the prose of amity; yet, we have the politics of conflict, the politics of exclusion. There is the delusion of politicians that the public need legislative restraint, a similar discipline that might be found between parent and errant child. Our national reality is that we find during political discourse, described by some as debate, an impoverished process that takes little notice of public opinion; we have a wider backdrop of the press, including radio and television, that is able to capture from the public their views, and project such opinion into the Cardiff Bay bubble, with such ferocity that politicians learn anew they are the servants of, not the masters of the public.
At Westminster those charged with creating and managing legislation are used to testing policies, and initiatives, for economic, social and environmental impact, as well as their effect on gender and race equality, in addition David Cameron’s advisor's are drawing up a set of indicators to determine whether a policy will increase human happiness or make people more miserable, interesting … whilst in Wales can only read in the Sunday Times that the king of Bhutan has gone furthest in making happiness the goal of government, as early as 1972 he decided to make GNH (gross national happiness) the county’s chief measure of success.
In Wales there is the politics of the socialist nationalist coalition, “clear red water”, stagnant water that must not be diluted with values and beliefs of others.
Wales is so much poorer for such myopia.
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