Did anyone see Carwyn, because everyone saw Peter?

I want to start with offering my deepest condolences to the families of Phillip Hill, 45, Garry Jenkins, 39, David Powell, 50, and Charles Breslin, 62, who sadly died after the Gleision mine flooded. Despite having no direct connection to mining it’s heartbreaking to see coal still claiming Welsh lives in the 21st century.

Over at Dale & Co, Ian Dale’s new website one of its contributors Ed Staite has named Peter Hain Communicator of the Week for his handling of the Gleision mine tragedy near Pontradawe and despite his normal shameless self promotion and my own antipathy towards him I’d agree. He spoke well, was respectful, informative and represented his constituents, community and Wales very ably to the national and international media audience that had gathered at the mine site and the surrounding communities.

But despite the accolades it got me wondering, if you didn’t know any better and let’s face it most people who watched across the UK and further afield wouldn’t, you’d believe from last week that Peter Hain was Wales’s First Minister and leader of the Welsh Government, not simply the Shadow Secretary of State for Wales.

He managed to totally out think and outmaneuver Carwyn Jones (admittedly not a particularly difficult task) who was there and met with families but remained in the background as Peter with help from his advisors took the lead on every front from the start of the unfolding tragedy. Everything from talking with the families, appearing with the police at press conferences and updating the gathered media to launching the appeal for families - would Alex Salmond, Peter Robinson or Martin McGuiness have allowed their respective Shadow Secretaries of State to take the lead in such circumstances in Scotland or Northern Ireland, I sincerely doubt it.

So why is Carwyn Jones who is after all supposed to be the man elected as Wales’s First Minister so willing to let Peter Hain do it in Wales, is what’s best for the Labour Party still more important than doing his job and leading the country, especially during such a dreadful tragedy?Any source