A Dragon Full of Hot Air
Welsh Government’s International Strategy
From Planet 246
by Robat Idris
Robat Idris scrutinises the Welsh Government’s International Strategy, whose launch was overshadowed by the pandemic, and argues that its under-examined 2020-2025 Action Plans are ripe for satire, and contain contradictions that critically undermine the government’s supposedly progressive image.
International delusionsBy January 2020, Mark Drakeford had been First Minister of Wales for over a year. He had masterfully engineered the smooth transformation from a bland Carwyn Jones-led Welsh Government which was happy to be part of the United Kingdom, and an enthusiastic subscriber to full-on global exploitative capitalism… to a Welsh Government which did exactly the same. In both cases with socialism-lite soundbites. Why change the style of a soporific managerialist government, unmatched as an election-winning machine? The time was ripe for creating an ‘International Strategy’ launched by Baroness Eluned Morgan of Ely, who in her foreword said ‘I could not have been more proud to have been appointed Wales’ first Minister for International Relations’.1 How odd that the cabinet post is no more, having disappeared in the October 2020 reshuffle! Nevertheless, five International Action Plans for 2020 to 2025 were published in November 2020,2 covering Diaspora engagement; Priority regional relationships and networks; International relations through diplomacy and soft power; Wales and Africa; and Export.
Sign in to read moreAbout the author
From Ynys Môn, Robat Idris is aghast at the destructive forces at large locally and worldwide, but clings to belief in the human spirit. He is a longstanding anti-nuclear campaigner for PAWB (People Against Wylfa B).
