In the course of the COVID pandemic the Prime Minister and the first Ministers of the devolved administrations have had a lot of UK wide publicity for obvious reasons. This has given the casual viewer, like me, the opportunity to compare and contrast the performance of these four individuals.
It goes without saying that by far the worst performer has been Boris Johnson whose lying bluster is a national embarrassment and seems to be getting worse. Only the Tory party could elect such a person to lead it and the country.
But what of the others?
I have not got a clear understanding of who is leading the Northern Ireland administration which probably speaks volumes about their performance.
So the real contest is between Johnson and Nicola Sturgeon and Mark Drakeford. I think both the latter have done well in showing real leadership and speaking in a believable, informed and confident way to their constituents. But for me the real winner is Mark Drakeford whose measured common sense and believable approach has been a pleasure to watch and has made me envious of the Welsh. He happens to be a member of the Labour party leading a Labour administration which I believe guarantees his grass roots contacts and understanding.
I have in the course of a long career in public health met Mark in several contexts when I worked in Wales. He impressed me from the start by his demeanour – confident but not dominating – and his knowledge and understanding particularly of the social and health care environments. The fact that such a man could rise to the top of the party in Wales and get elected as First Minister speaks volumes about him and about the perspicacity and intelligence of the Welsh people.