How to make enemies and alienate people

As every member, staffer, cleaner and indeed visitor at the Senedd knows, there is little love lost between Mid & West Wales Regional Labour AMs Alun Davies and Joyce Watson. Which is odd when you consider that as both were elected due to serving Labour AMs getting the boot last May, both would be counting their lucky stars to be there at all.

While Ms Watson has pretty much taken that line, rumour has it that the ever-friendly Alun has not. You see, it is understandable that Alun Davies wants to be king-pin in this region, and views Watson very much as an annoying source of competition. It's alleged that with the tacit approval of a senior figure within Welsh Labour, he's been setting about undermining Watson at every available opportunity. This simmering hatred has, however, bubbled just beneath the surface for the past eight months, with Watson taking Davies' petty jibes with something approaching good grace.

Indeed, even while Davies appeared to be groomed as one of Rhodri's trusted 'briefers' to the media, Watson got on with - shock, horror - trying to represent the people who [sort of] elected her.

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Now, here's where it gets really nasty. You see, a few days ago the BBC broke a story that the Welsh Conservatives had made an official complaint about Joyce Watson's misuse of Assembly postage and resources to mail Labour Party members. The thrust of the coverage was pretty clear in its agenda - she should have known better, the rules are clear, and that her regional AM colleague Alun Davies may suffer in the fall out through no fault of his own etc etc.

But dig a little deeper, and alarm bells start ringing. For example, how would the Welsh Conservatives have ever found out that Watson had been mailing Party members? Of course, from a Labour source in her patch with an axe to grind [allegedly]. But which Labour source drinks with 'leaky' Conservatives on a regular basis in the pubs and bars of Cardiff Bay? And received almost universal sympathy in all the coverage of the story?

Now let me think...

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(Hat tip to the anonymous)