Castles in the sand? Apparently not...

Castles in the sand? Apparently not...

Let's do some cliches.

“Our best days are yet to come!” So says Sheikh Ahmad bin Saeed al-Maktoum, chairman of Dubai Supreme Fiscal Committee, buoyed by the $10 billion bailout from Abu Dhabi.

Words no doubt the Emirati press will feel at great liberty to print ad infinitum.

Well one good cliche deserves another, so let’s think about this...

In Qatar, on the evening of December 14th, BBC World’s Doha Debates programme was being recorded.

Five Emirati journalists from various media outlets were invited to attend and all said they would. But then, a few days ago, they pulled out, just like that.

The motion up for debate was: “This House Believes Dubai is a Bad Idea.”

Now, just maybe, all of a sudden they had a better story to cover. Or perhaps someone thought the people of the Emirates wouldn’t be interested in the controversial, impassioned arguments that would be put forward. After all it’s only one of the hottest political and social topics in the region right now.

Just possibly, they were instructed not to come. ‘Enough of the bad press - our best days are to come!’ - could have been the reasoning.

Instead we had a journalist from the UK Observer newspaper, reporters from the Qatari papers. And me.

You may sense an irony coming. Well yes, had the Dubai journalists covered the Debates, they would have had a good story to report, a vote in support of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed el Maktoum’s optimism.

The majority of people in the audience thought Dubai was NOT a bad idea. They would have been able to report how the audience supported the view that Dubai IS on the right road, it’s only momentarily taken a wrong turning.

Only 38% supported the motion.

The story will no doubt reach the Dubai press, now that it’s a good news piece. That’s transparency for you.

So I say why use one cliche when you can use two?

Conspicuous by their absence, they shot themselves in the foot on a story that just won't go away.

Sorry, that's three.