WHAT? It’s Rhodri Morgan’s 70th birthday? Well, he kept that quiet. There’s hardly been a mention of it in the media over the past six months.

But nobody was left in any doubt today as every AM at First Minister’s Questions felt it necessary to mark it, whether that be by a congratulations, a lame joke or – in at least one excruciating example – singing.

Members of all parties also pulled their punches today. Weary of ruining the birthday celebrations or just worried about publicly berating an old man?

The scene was set straight away – Jeff Cuthbert (Labour, Caerphilly) asking his usual planted question, this time on manufacturing, but preceding it by wishing the First Minister a happy birthday. This set off a half-hearted rendition of ‘Penblwydd hapus i ti’ among some of the female AMs. It was poor, but practically Broadway compared to some of the attempts at humour that followed.

“I hope you didn’t get too many pairs of socks and ties!,” laughed Shadow Economic Development Minister David Melding.

“Not since JFK was sang to by Marilyn Monroe has a birthday taken on such significance as today and our own legendary figure!,” joshed Conservative leader Nick Bourne.

“I’m sure if it was proceeded by a fiver from each of us you’d be very prosperous man by the end of the session!,” chortled Shadow Education Minister.

Still, not everyone was so nice – especially Shadow Environment Minister Darren Millar, who is taking as much interest in the departure of his opponent party’s leader as he usually takes in his own.

Questioning Mr Morgan, he demanded the First Minister “put us all out of our misery”, before being cut short by Presiding Officer Lord Elis-Thomas.

“The question of the retirement of any member of the Assembly is entirely a personal matter,” he ruled.

“The First Minister is here today to answer questions on his responsibilities as First Minister. However long he intends to remain as First Minister is a matter for him, him alone, and possibly almighty God,” he added, somewhat strangely.

“The responsibility of government is always of extreme importance and I will always have that in mind whatever decision I take,” said Mr Morgan.

Still, a serious point: if Mr Morgan is not there to answer questions about his own position, why are über-loyal Labour backbenchers consistently allowed to answer planted questions about the policies of David Cameron and George Osborne, opposition politicians in an entirely different legislature?

Alun Davies (Mid and West Wales) asked about Conservative attitudes to European funds, which allowed Mr Morgan to return to the decision of former Welsh Secretary John “Whatever his name was, I can’t remember” not to apply for Objective One funds in the early 1990s (“I’m getting old, I can’t remember John Redwood’s name”).

Both Ann Jones (Vale of Clwyd) and Sandy Mewies (Delyn) got away with it, the latter really testing Mr Morgan by asking whether he agreed withe her that a Conservative UK government would be “a disaster for Wales”. Guess what? He did! What are the point of these kind of questions?

But back to the matter in hand. Eleanor Burnham, who fancies herself as a bit of a singer, preceded her question with a solo rendition of Happy Birthday that owed more to Marilyn Manson than Marilyn Monroe.

But just to round off what had proved to be a sugary, jolly love-in of a First Minister’s Questions, Mick Bates (Lib Dem, Montgomeryshire) rose.

“Very happy birthday,” he wished the First Minister. “A birthday you now share with my grandson Harry Llywelyn, who was born today.”

Aaaaaahhhh, went the Senedd in unison, and you half expected all the parties to come together and engage in a big group-hug, so convivial was today’s session.

A new congenial form of politics? Give it a week and they’ll be back at each other’s necks again.