The general election is about what happens here (at Westminster), not what happens in the assembly

Dafydd Wigley

In an interview for BBC News Online, Mr Wigley said: "We in the assembly are in danger of thinking that the whole of the world revolves around us, that it is the only point of power that is relevant to us.

"We have to be fighting on a broad front, particularly with a general election coming up now. And the general election is about what happens here (at Westminster), not what happens in the assembly."

Plaid has focused a great deal of attention on the assembly during the last year, following its unexpectedly good showing at the assembly elections in May 1999.

Plaid won 17 of the 60 seats, including some spectacular gains in traditional south Wales valley Labour heartland areas like Rhondda and Islwyn. It also came close to capturing several other Labour strongholds.

The surge in support meant Plaid became by far the largest opposition party in the assembly, and activists have been bullish about doing even better at the next assembly elections.

Assembly is 'background noise'

However, Mr Wigley warned Plaid that with the election looming, the party may be getting its priorities wrong.

"The assembly is part of the background noise to it (the election) but the focus is on Westminster and we will ignore that at our peril."

In the interview he candidly outlined what he sees as the mistakes he made during his time as Plaid leader.

He believes he may have been wrong to persevere as an MP after he and two of his Plaid Westminster colleagues, Ynys M�n's Ieuan Wyn Jones and Ceredigion's Cynog Dafis, were elected to the assembly in May last year.

Plaid peer Lord Elis-Thomas.

Only one, Cynog Dafis gave up his Commons seat, triggering the Ceredigion by-election, which Plaid won comfortably while Labour's vote slumped badly.

"We could have stood down, three of us, from Westminster immediately after the assembly elections," Wigley says now.

"With hindsight probably we should have done so."

The frontrunner to succeed him, Ynys M�n MP Ieuan Wyn Jones, declared in a newspaper interview last month that Plaid must clearly define its keynote position.

The comment has prompted questions over the clarity of policy under Mr Wigley's leadership.

Failed

However, he believes that on most of the fundamental issues their policies are clear - the commitment to gaining full national status for Wales within Europe, to being willing to increase taxes if public expenditure requires it, to the full status of both the English and Welsh languages in Wales.

But "there are a range of nitty gritty issues on which we need to be clear," he accepts.

Whoever succeeds him as leader, he believes they will have failed if, at the next general election, Plaid does not win at least one extra Commons seat and a significantly increased share of the Welsh vote.

Challenge to activists

"Our Westminster vote last time was at the traditional low level of about 10%," he points out.

"We need that to be between 15 and 20% to show the momentum is still running. So that is the challenge whoever is president of the party."

Despite Plaid's recent success in the assembly, the party has never succeeded in winning more than its current four Westminster seats.

While his party's future remains uncertain, Mr Wigley is sure his own destiny will not be to follow his predecessor - Lord Elis-Thomas - into the House of Lords.

"It won't be offered - and I wouldn't accept."