Michael Martin's performance in the Commons yesterday has lead several commentators to note his passing the buck to anyone who stood still for long enough to catch it - the police were to blame, the Serjeant at Arms was to blame, but he, Gorbals Mick was a paragon of virtue and an example to us all. (I made that last bit up).
Martin has been heavily criticised for not shouldering the blame himself, but I think those who would cast the first stone need to be much more culturally sensitive. Martin is from Western Scotland, and in the nether regions of Glasgow, politicians have been brought up to avoid responsibility for everything and anything that goes wrong. It's almost bred into them. It's is where the phrase "political accountability" comes from - it means accountability for things that go well, and things that go well only. Martin is merely expressing his native political culture.
So take your English preconceptions of how politicians should behave back to Blighty and have a care for the way other people run their affairs.
Thank you.