Everybody's having their tuppence-worth on Lembit Öpik's relationship with pop singer and advocate of bum-touching, Gabriela Irimia - whether he was in the wrong to flag up the Cheeky Girls' immigration case with the relevant minister, whether the relationship itself impinges on his abilities as a politician, whether celebrity and politics should mix.
Stoke-on-Trent newspaper Sentinel Sunday poses the big question though: how would a relationship between the Welsh Liberal Democrat leader and fictional cave-dwelling housewife Wilma Flintstone pan out? I kid you not: this comes from the Christmas Eve edition:
Liberal Democrat MP LEMBIT OPIK has split from weather-woman Sian Lloyd, and instead taken up with Romanian pop star Gabriela Irimia from the Cheeky Girls. In the week that Joseph Barbera, one half of the team behind classic cartoon The Flintstones, died, Lembit finds himself married to WILMA FLINTSTONE.Initial Attraction: Wilma first became drawn to Lembit after seeing him on the current affairs quiz HaveI Got News For You. She sees Lembit as a somewhat more reconstructed male than current gusband Fred, who has little interest in the world around him. Lembit likes Wilma cause she's thin.
Sex Life: It's not easy sustaining an intimate relationship in Stone Age times. Chances are, just as you're getting down to it in the grass, your dinosaur lawnmower will come along and nip you on the bottom.
Flashpoints: Wilma becomes increasingly frustrated when Lembit starts staying out late and is pictured in a daily stone tablet with a young talent show floozie on his arm. Lembit just can't tear himself away from the party scene.
The Future: Lembit leaves Wilma for his new love after she wins public hearts by doing a saucy dance routine with her sister. Wilma immediately picks up her shell on a string and rings the Home Office to tell them the woman is only seeing Lembit to further her nationality application. In the end, none of it matters as all parties are consumed by a passing Tyrannosaurus.
Lord alone knows what they're putting in the water in Stoke-on-Trent.