Rhys Evans The Politics Show Wales

Professor Dai Smith

The row over who should run the arts in Wales shows no sign of abating.

On Tuesday 28 March 2006, following days of speculation, Assembly Culture Minister Alun Pugh announced that Professor Dai Smith would be the interim Chair of the Arts Council.

The announcement of the successor to the departing chair, Geraint Talfan Davies was given a mixed reception.

Some saw Professor Smith's appointment as exactly the kind of heavyweight appointment the Arts Council needed ahead of a crucial review of the arts in Wales.

Others see things quite differently.

The opposition parties in the Assembly claim that Alun Pugh broke the ministerial code by appointing Professor Smith without going through the usual procedure.

Opposition AMs are also adamant that the Culture Minister should have advertised for a full-time replacement for Geraint Talfan Davies much sooner.

Alun Pugh for his part though remains convinced that he did everything by the book and that the opposition parties are by now playing politics with the arts.

Next week, Alun Pugh faces a motion of censure in the Assembly.

That motion is highly unlikely to succeed but for some, key questions as to his conduct in this row remain.

On Sunday 02 April, Alun Pugh appears live on the Politics Show to answer his opponents.

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