Sunday, April 08, 2007

Cheeky Welsh LibDem Leader Rubbishes Lembit Opik

Mike German, the Welsh LibDem leader who is recognised by only 6% of Welsh people, has hit out at Lembit Opik in an interview with Wales on Sunday Political Editor (and blogger) Matt Withers.
But Mr German knows that personality, as well as politics, are vital in
modern-day campaigning. The party's Montgomeryshire branch chairman has
suggested that the antics of their Welsh Leader, Lembit Opik - dumping long-term
weathergirl fiancee Sian Lloyd for one of the Cheeky Girls and regularly
parading her in the media - is damaging to the party. I expect you'll just
give me the line about how this is just media gossip irrelevant to politics, I
suggest. "I haven't said that, actually," he says interestingly. "He has." Mr German adds: "I don't think it will have any effect whatsoever on our party. And I don't know - and we can't judge it from this election - whether it will have an effect on Lembit himself as a person. That's a judgement for him and the public later. If indeed it happens - by that time, time will have moved on. "They may be warm to him, but whether they'll vote for him or not is another matter. "That's the issue you won't be able to answer at this election. That's for the future."


Glyn Davies has more HERE, while Ordovicius has a, ahem, different angle on the interview HERE.

15 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is this the bloke Matt Withers calls 'Ego German'? Nice one, Arsembly. Well done for finding Matt Withers' Arsembly blog, Iain, a Withers rare, hilarious and revealing insights into Welsh politics.

We need more people like you, Boris and Matt to fight for our fragile freedom and democracy, Iain.

Auntie Flo'

Anonymous said...

All this and a Iain's a talented magician too.

I was right in the middle of posting a comment on one of your topics when the whole topic just vaporised into the ether...or have I had too much plonk with my Easter eggs and begun fantasising topics today? :)

Auntie Flo'

Anonymous said...

Fame at last! Thanks for the link, Iain.


Is this the bloke Matt Withers calls 'Ego German'? Nice one, Arsembly.

Are you sure they're one and the same? There's plenty of people in Cardiff Bay who'd walk over hot coals to find out who Arsembly is.

Blamerbell said...

I think you'll find, Iain, that the leader of the Welsh Liberal Democrats is somewhat confusingly none other than Mr Opik himself.

Anonymous said...

I am a resident of Montgomeryshire and have always voted LibDem...until now. They should be very worried. The folk here may be country folk but they do not like dishonest politicians who believe in their own hype. Man about town Opik has shown that he is just another Politician. In it for himself, happy to embarrass the Party and all of the hard working people who have spent hours supporting him. All for a bit of skirt and so reminiscent of how he dumped his girlfriend before Sian. Trust? Honour? Perhaps such words do not exist in Estonian. Tosser.

Anonymous said...

sandef said:
Are you sure they [Matt Withers and the Arsembly bogger] are one and the same?

No one knows who Arsembly is, but who else could it be but Withers?

The raucus Arsembly style is surely that of joker Matt Withers.

An informal pic of Withers was posted to the site by Arsembly - was this in response to questions about who Arsembly is?

Withers posted a joke in comments re this pic, that his reputation was now shot to pieces. How could one bleary eyed pic taken on holiday years ago and Arsembly's comment that Withers was drunk in it ruin Withers reputation? Unless Withers means his reputation is shot because the Arsembly site is his?

One poster who speaks to Withers as Matt - and seems to know him? - asks why Withers posted the pic to his facebook. The poster seems to assume that Withers is on the blog and will reply...and sure enough Withers does, just a few moments later, with, 'I don't know, I really don't know...'

Another comment tells Withers that he's asking for trouble. For simply posting a picture to his facebook? Surely not, there's a subscript there.

Oddly, and it is odd, Arsembly does not reply to Withers shot reputation joke. You don't reply to yourself, do you?

Several comments on Arsembly suggest that Matt Withers is in deep trouble - for what? An out of date, bleary eyed picture that he says someone else posted on his facebook then to Arsembly?

A 'BBC Boy' blogger has commented that Withers is the most talked about person in the BBC's political unit. Why should they be talking about Withers when Arsembly is much hotter news - unless the BBC unit knows that Arsembly is Withers and that's what they're talking about?

The latest blog from Arsembly on this states:

"Matt's Facebook status has now changed to: 'Matt is in trouble.' You bet he is."

For one old holiday snap which wouldn't embarrass anyone?

And, in one post, how does Arsembly know where Withers is going after work the following day if he - or one of the Arsembly team, if it is a team - is not Withers?

Auntie Flo'

Anonymous said...

Also, saddef,

There's the business of Arsembly speaking in the present tense when describing Withers in an outdated picture. It seemed to me that Arsembly speaks as though he is Withers and is using the pic to illustrate the inebriated state that he, Arsembly, is in at the time of posting.

Who do you think Arsembly is?

Auntie Flo'

Anonymous said...

Several comments on Arsembly suggest that Matt Withers is in deep trouble - for what

The thought had crossed my mind, Auntie Flo (mainly because of your previous identification of Withers) and I agree with your conclusions. There is no other explanation that I can think of.

Anonymous said...

One way to find out, sanddef, might be for Arsembly and Withers to be invited to be interviewed together. But who would interview them....?

Auntie Flo'

Blamerbell said...

"I am a resident of Montgomeryshire and have always voted LibDem...until now. They should be very worried."

Pah. Take it easy. Lembit's harmless. It's all about us younguns now, you see.

Anonymous said...

But who would interview them....?


If you're going to start dropping hints like that people will think you're an Arsembly sockpuppet.

;-)

Anonymous said...

Blamerbell said...
Pah. Take it easy. Lembit's harmless. It's all about us younguns now, you see.

That's bit unfair, don't your think, Blamerbell? What about the huge influence of the grey pound? I think it should be about all of us, of whatever age - people power - not increasing amounts of our power and money being grabbed by politicians. Surely only by standing together do we have any chance of controlling politicians and their greedy, power mad egocentric ambitions.

Auntie Flo'

Anonymous said...

Its all about us younguns now, you see.....


Might be true if only the "younguns" could be bothered to vote

Scipio said...

c'mon...a weather girl in her 40's who has a jaw like David Coultard, or a cheeky girl who looks ..... well, you know. No brainer surely!

It's all jealousy I say.

Anonymous said...

Mike German has an interesting history . When he worked for the WJEC , the Welsh Exams Board, he was to say the least a little cavalier with his employer's credit card. Although he wasn't prosecuted he did pay up for petrol he bought using the credit card when the WJEC threatened to take him to county court. The card was used to purchase wine and it was even used to pay for private meals at some of the most exclusive reataurants in cardiff and a number of Indian take aways!. In Naples he used it in a shop called Fratelli Cimino for god know's what. At the same time as Head of the European Unit of the WJEC his managemnet skills were so poor that the board has been forced to pay back large sums to the EU. He really is a joke.