- China crisis - 15th July 2026
- Burned out again - 14th July 2026
- Broken - 13th July 2026
During 23 years with the BBC, and a 42 year journalistic career (when he was trained to use clear and simple language, avoiding jargon), for our Editor, Welshman Phil Parry, it has always been important to reveal the truth behind well-publicised negotiations between senior political figures, and now we are seeing this in Wales, as well as at the much-trumpeted summit between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping.
Words are easy but what do they actually mean?!
After widely-heralded talks between senior political figures, you invariably get vacuous phrases which, frankly, don’t mean a great deal.
So you will hear: “We are now in a position to move forward, delivering for the people…” etc., or “After hard negotiations (for which read that it was a screaming match!) a major breakthrough has been achieved…” blah, blah, blah.
These are the sort of comments we may get in any talks between the leader of the Welsh nationalist party Plaid Cymru (Plaid) Rhun ap Iorwerth, as well as after the hugely-publicised ‘summit’ between Donald Trump and Xi Jinping which is set for 14 -15 of May in Beijing, although it has already been cancelled once.
Mr ap Iorwerth was confirmed as First Minister of Wales (FMW) yesterday, and declared that it was the: “greatest privilege of my life”. ‘Motherhood and apple pie’ anyone?
Let’s look at the first one initially.
Many of my contacts say that Plaid will govern as a minority party on a ‘confidence and supply’ basis, because they only have 43 seats in the Welsh Parliament/Senedd Cymru (WP/SC), and to win a majority under the new, more proportional, electoral system a party requires 49 seats.
That means securing the support they need from other parties (or members) as and when they need to pass legislation – minority governments are not uncommon within Welsh politics, with the first-ever Welsh Assembly (WA) being led by a minority Labour Government.
In early 2026 Mr ap Iorwerth expressed his desire to form a minority government if Plaid won the election but did not secure a majority of seats.
Referencing the then latest opinion polls, the Plaid leader told the Gwleidydda podcast on BBC Radio Cymru (BBC RC) that it was his party’s wish to form a minority government of solely Plaid ministers.
But that’s not the only option, and here is where the empty phrases might come in.
If the largest party does not secure a majority of seats it can attempt to maintain power by creating a more permanent alliance with a smaller party through a power-sharing agreement or coalition, and, again, they are not an unfamiliar sight, with arguably the most prominent being the 2007-2011 ‘One Wales’ coalition agreement between Plaid and Labour.
Mr ap Iorwerth has already proclaimed: “We will now take the next steps to form a Government”, and to interpret the coalition possibility for Mrs Jones in Rhyl, it means dividing up highly-paid jobs to work out who they can jump into bed with.
Discussions of coalitions had begun before the election, with party leaders expressing who they would, and, perhaps more importantly, would NOT, be willing to work with.
For example, Anthony Slaughter, leader of the Wales Green Party, announced just days before the election that he would be willing to enter a coalition government to prevent Reform UK taking power.
Welsh Labour, the Welsh Liberal Democrats, the Wales Green Party, and the Welsh Conservatives have all indicated that they would be open to working with Plaid post-election.
To once more interpret this for Mrs Jones in Rhyl coalition talks would involve parceling out jobs, perhaps junking certain policies other parties don’t like as well, and coming out of a meeting room saying what a marvellous achievement they have made…
From the date of the election, the WP/SC had 28 days to nominate an MS as First Minister of Wales (FMW), so if Mr ap Iorwerth had not been appointed by this date, the WP/SC would have been dissolved, and another election would have been held.
Let’s turn now to the summit between Mr Trump and Mr Xi, because you are likely to hear here too that it was a ‘marvellous achievement’ – especially if the American President is involved!
It SHOULD present the two leaders with a great opportunity to repair the damage from a protracted Sino-American conflict, although it won’t be put in those terms officially.
Their last meeting, in South Korea in October 2025, produced a slight easing of tensions but no breakthrough. This one might be called a “Grand Bargain”, which, again, means nothing whatsoever!
In theory it COULD open the door for an initiative which may, of course, be hailed as a “marvellous achievement”: a joint endorsement by both leaders of a Bilateral Investment Treaty.
A ‘BIT,’ as diplomats know it, is an agreement negotiated between two countries establishing the terms and conditions for cross-border private investment, and they have proliferated over the past half a century, with more than 2,200 now in force.
America has 40 and China 110, more than any other country.
So watch out Mrs Jones – this ‘BIT’ could be talked up as a ‘marvellous achievement’ when the reality is that it might be nothing of the sort.
You will have to read The Eye for the truth about what it really means…
The memories of Phil’s decades-long award-winning career in journalism (including his time covering politics), as he was gripped by the rare disabling condition Hereditary Spastic Paraplegia (HSP), have been released in a major book ‘A GOOD STORY’. Order it now!
Tomorrow – our satirical writer Edwin Phillips listens to an absurd table tennis game in a trendy London office, where Public Relations (PR) executives pitch ideas to win points, and one scores with the thought of having a giant inflatable bowel visiting North Wales, which would have been funny were it not true…
