Competition Time

A regular reader has been in touch to ask if there are any other political leaders who have been in post as long as Ediie McAvoy - the Labour Leader of South Lanarkshire Council who has held his office continuously since 1999.

Now I can't think of anyone who has been a political 'leader' all that time - certainly not a council leader anyway - though there are other political figures that spring to mind.

My initial thought was Vladimir Putin - the all-action, macho-man President of Russia and a distinct step or two up from South Lanarkshire Council - I've got to admit.

But then I remembered, Vladimir at least had to stand down after the end of his first two terms of office as Russian President (as required by the Russian constitution) - although he simply swapped roles (with his good buddy Dimitry Medvedev) and took up the job of Russian Prime Minister for a four years - until he could stand for the position of President again.

Now that's what I call job sharing - I bet the writers of the Russian constitution are kicking themselves now for missing an obvious political trick like that!

So I am holding a competition to see if anyone can suggest a political figure who fits the bill of staying in office for longer than Eddie McAvoy's 14 years and 3 months - assuming I'm correct is saying that Eddie was first elected leader in May 1999. 

I haven't decided on a suitable prize as yet, but rest assured it won't be a play on that old joke:

1st Prize - a night out with Eddie McAvoy
2nd Prize - two nights out with Eddie McAvoy
3rd Prize - three nights out with Eddie McAvoy, etc, etc, etc....... 

So send any nominations to me at the following email address:
markirvine@compuserve.com