Saturday 12 January 2008

More Hain, less gain

Peter Hain won't be in any hurry to visit his local newsagent this morning.

The Guardian gives a flavour of the coverage.

The mysterious think tank, through which money for the Hain deputy leadership campaign was chanelled, has apparently spent more time on accountancy than thinking.

Hain is now facing three separate inquiries into his breach of the rules over campaign funding.

The Conservatives seem happy to keep him in the spotlight, with the publicity damaging Gordon Brown's Government, rather than to go for the jugular by calling for him to to. They say we should await the parliamentary comissioner on standards' report. (This may also have something to do with the Tories' own creative fund-raising arrangements via third parties).

Plaid Cymru have called for Hain to go. "More in sorrow than in anger, I am forced to say his position is untenable," says Elfyn Llwyd, perhaps fighting back tears of sorrow, or perhaps not.

Hain's position won't be decided by what opposition parties think. Opinion among Labour MPs will be crucial in making up Gordon Brown's mind on whether to back or sack Peter Hain.

When ministerial colleagues euphemistically concede he's got himself into a "very difficult position", you know this is one political cat rapidly running out of political lives.

1 comment:

Aralio said...

the farce of Peter's statement today, with News 24 saying it would be at 10am, then 1.30pm, then 2.30pm and counting, only for him to finally appear at 3.30pm to read out a pre-released statement - taking no questions - a statement which says nothing significant that wasn't in Thursday's Guardian interview, has 'he's a goner' written all over it.

I assume he was waiting to see what the Sundays had on him. Perhaps there won't be anything in tomorrow's headlines to finish him off but it won't be long now.