The leader of Plaid Cymru has accused the Welsh First Minister of misreading the mood of the nation in her Labour conference speech.
Rhun ap Iorwerth said Baroness Eluned Morgan was wrong to describe his party and Reform UK as “different poison, same bottle” during the address on Sunday.
Lady Morgan said Plaid and Reform represented “divisive nationalism in different forms” and warned Wales would “fall into chaos” if the parties were successful at the Senedd election in May.
Plaid and Reform are currently forecast to be the two biggest parties in Wales next year, according to a YouGov poll published by ITV Cymru Wales.
Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Mr ap Iorwerth accused Lady Morgan of using “Trump-style language” in her speech.
He said: “I honestly think this is a leader and a party who have lost their way.
“Of course, nobody thinks for a second that Plaid Cymru and Reform offer the same proposition, yet in her speech the First Minister used language, quite frankly, unbecoming of her office to describe her political opponents – ‘different poison, same bottle’.
“Now, in politics words do matter, so I would ask the First Minister to reflect on her choice of tone and terminology.
“Does she really think that Plaid Cymru and Reform are so similar? Where we promote unity, they sow division.”
He added: “And then there’s the Trump-style language.
“So did the First Minister write those words herself, or will she blame an aide like Keir Starmer did with his ‘island of strangers’ speech?”
The First Minister said: “Let me just be clear that I think that Reform wants to divide our communities and Plaid wants to divide our nations.
“Reform wants to blame foreigners and Plaid wants to blame Westminster.”
Mr ap Iorwerth said: “History will not judge this First Minister’s use of words kindly.
“She has fundamentally misread the mood of the nation and failed to give a thought-out analysis of the current state of Welsh politics and the challenges the next Government faces.
“In her desperation, frankly, for a headline, she has ceded all credibility.”
