[Vala] static member variable intialization

[Nigel Griffin <ngriffin vuze com>]

Hi,

I have a vala class which contains only static methods.  I need some corresponding static member variables 
(some of which are objects) initialized before any of the static member methods are invoked.  Is this 
possible in Vala?  In C# or java, a static constructor could be used to ensure variables are properly 
initialized before any static variables are references.

I tried the static construct and class construct options in vala, as well as new'ing the objects at the point 
of definition in the class.  None of these options appears to work.  Am I missing something, or is this kind 
of precise control over the initialization of static member objects not possible in Vala?

-Nigel