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| AMs' first meeting after election | |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Welsh assembly members will meet for the first time since the election to choose a presiding officer and deputy presiding officer to oversee debates. | Welsh assembly members will meet for the first time since the election to choose a presiding officer and deputy presiding officer to oversee debates. |
| Plaid's Dafydd Elis-Thomas is expected to continue in the job he has done for eight years and Labour is nominating Rosemary Butler as his deputy. | Plaid's Dafydd Elis-Thomas is expected to continue in the job he has done for eight years and Labour is nominating Rosemary Butler as his deputy. |
| There is no agreement on who will form a government but Labour AMs have given their leader Rhodri Morgan authority to talk to the Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru. | There is no agreement on who will form a government but Labour AMs have given their leader Rhodri Morgan authority to talk to the Lib Dems and Plaid Cymru. |
| Labour has 26 of the 60 assembly seats. | Labour has 26 of the 60 assembly seats. |
| It is by far the biggest party but cannot rule without some sort of support from one of the other parties. | It is by far the biggest party but cannot rule without some sort of support from one of the other parties. |
| Mr Morgan has had approval from his group to talk to both Liberal Democrat leader Mike German and Plaid Cymru's Ieuan Wyn Jones. | Mr Morgan has had approval from his group to talk to both Liberal Democrat leader Mike German and Plaid Cymru's Ieuan Wyn Jones. |
| What we don't want to see is a government which hobbles on from one day to another. Plaid Cymru's Helen Mary Jones | |
| Mr Morgan has already pledged not to take his party into any kind of coalition with the Conservatives. | Mr Morgan has already pledged not to take his party into any kind of coalition with the Conservatives. |
| He said: "I will be seeking to have talks with Mike German and with Ieuan Wyn Jones so that we can see whether we can produce a sustainable government and a government which can deliver for the people of Wales over the next four years". | He said: "I will be seeking to have talks with Mike German and with Ieuan Wyn Jones so that we can see whether we can produce a sustainable government and a government which can deliver for the people of Wales over the next four years". |
| But BBC Wales understands that the majority of the Labour group regard the prospect of a deal with the Liberal Democrats as the "least worst option". | But BBC Wales understands that the majority of the Labour group regard the prospect of a deal with the Liberal Democrats as the "least worst option". |
| After a long meeting with Labour AMs, Mr Morgan said he had a mandate to "start talks about talks" and "negotiations about negotiations". | After a long meeting with Labour AMs, Mr Morgan said he had a mandate to "start talks about talks" and "negotiations about negotiations". |
| The assembly has until the end of the month to nominate a first minister and the talks could last for weeks. | The assembly has until the end of the month to nominate a first minister and the talks could last for weeks. |
| Mr Morgan has been given a mandate to negotiate | |
| Plaid's Helen Mary Jones, who won back the Llanelli assembly seat she lost to Labour four years ago in last week's poll, said all options would be looked at in terms of party agreements and nothing was decided yet. | |
| "What is clear to me and everybody in the Plaid Cymru group is that we have to be able to work on shared values and principles and in delivering a programme for the people of Wales. | |
| "I think that's open for debate with Rhodri Morgan and his colleagues" | |
| She added:"What we don't want to see is a government which hobbles on from one day to another." | |
| Ethnic minority | |
| With a fifth of AMs being new, the mix of faces around the chamber will look somewhat different compared to when the assembly last met six weeks ago. | With a fifth of AMs being new, the mix of faces around the chamber will look somewhat different compared to when the assembly last met six weeks ago. |
| One landmark will be the addition of the first ethnic minority member. | |
| Plaid Cymru's Mohammad Asghar was elected on the South Wales East regional list. The main topic of conversation amongst new and more experienced AMs will be how the new assembly government will be constructed. | |
| The new Conservative group will meet for the first time later, with Plaid holding its second post-election meeting around the same time. | The new Conservative group will meet for the first time later, with Plaid holding its second post-election meeting around the same time. |