Alex Massie

Alex Massie

Thursday

Alex Massie

How Sound is Salmond’s Scottish Pound?

From our UK edition

One of the more tiresome aspects of the SNP's vision for the future of Scotland is its fondness for breezily sweeping away awkward questions as though important elements of Scotland's prospects as an independent nation were nit-picking details that need not delay anyone from setting out on the road to Independence. It sometimes seems as though weather warnings do not exist or, if it is conceded they do, they should be seen as what they are: biased forecasts designed to prevent Scots from reaching their bright future. There are, you see, few clouds and fewer storms to trouble our bonny and blithe travellers. But some of these warnings are important and reasonable.

Alex Massie

Romney is Grim but Newt Gingrich Remains Impossible

From our UK edition

A reader writes asking if I wish to reconsider my past certainty that Mitt Romney is the Republican party's presumptive nominee? No, not really. This is less a matter of Mr Romney's strengths as a front-runner and more a question of the impossibility of selecting any of his rivals. Newt Gingrich's resurrection in South Carolina was startling but scarcely dooms Mr Romney's prospects. As Daniel Larison says: Romney can be a dishonest demagogue, but Gingrich is the one who thinks (or pretends to think) the “Kenyan anti-colonialist” theory about Obama makes sense. Many Republicans are unenthusiastic about Romney, but far more people nationwide can’t stand Gingrich.

Wednesday

Alex Massie

Alex Salmond’s Inevitability Strategy

From our UK edition

Apparently it is all but compulsory for London-based observers to note that Alex Salmond is "wily". Those possessing an Anglo-Scots dictionary may add that he's "sleekit". By this they really mean he's not a numpty and this, given the pressures of the times and all of that, is as much of a compliment as any minister can hope to receive. Alex Salmond is an intelligent politician who is often on manoevres. Shockerooni! Be that as it may, it is evident that the First Minister appreciates the importance of image-projection and, accordingly, is doing his utmost to present Scottish independence as a destination that's as logical as it is inevitable. It is about building momentum which in time becomes self-sustaining.

Alex Massie

Salmond: Scotland Free By 2016?

From our UK edition

So, the game is afoot. The Scottish government today published its consultation document on an independence referendum to be held in the autumn of 2014. You can read it all here though I should warn you that most of it is entirely unobjectionable. If Mr Salmond is the salesman he hopes he is, the next Scottish parliament - due to be elected in May 2016 - will be the first to govern an independent nation since that auld sang ended in 1707. I notice, however, that the favoured question proffered by the SNP has changed. As recently as last year it proposed asking for a mandate to open negotiations. This has become a simpler, more direct question: Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?  No "maybe" box is provided for responses.

Thursday

Alex Massie

Tales from a Debacle: Perry & Huntsman Editions

From our UK edition

Some Presidential campaigns make some kind of intuitive sense; others do not. Rick Perry's run for the Republican nomination this year fell into that former category, Jon Huntsman's into the latter. Now each has lost their pomp and is one with Ninevah and Tyre. It turns out that, whatever the basis for your campaign, running for the presidency is hard. Perry and Huntsman met identical fates (abject failure) but their respective journeys to the bottom of the polls remain instructive. Nothing hurt Perry's prospects more than his decision to enter the race. Until that point evertything was going rather well. Perry appeared the candidate not named Mitt Romney most likely to stop Mitt Romney. Oops.

Wednesday

Alex Massie

The John Wilkes Society is Reborn

From our UK edition

John Wilkes was radical and wrong; his latter-day equivalents are merely stupid and wrong. To buttress this notion, I submit the cases* of Simon Heffer and Melanie Phillips. We are talking, as you know, about the Scottish Question upon which these Daily Mail columnists have recently seen fit to pontificate. As we shall see, if these are the people teaching Scotland to Middle England then the plain yeomen of England should demand better from their newspaper. It is one thing to peddle nonsense - everyone must do what they can to earn a living - quite another to sell an argument that contradicts itself. Yet hark at this from Mr Heffer: As in some marriages, divorces happen when one side walks out.

Alex Massie

Rethinking High-Speed Rail

From our UK edition

Previously, I've supported the government's plans for High-Speed Rail, even though the "business case" for them has always struck me as being pretty weak*. On reflection, I'm not sure I was right. The case for HSR in Britain is weaker than I allowed. Not because HSR is undesirable (I still think it could be useful) but because reducing train times between London, Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds is, though useful, not enough to justify spending £33bn on the project. Or, to put it another way, I suspect it really is a misallocation of resources since this money might more usefully be spent alleviating congestion in the south-east of England while also increasing capacity (as everyone agrees is needed) on the main north-south routes. So, Matt Sinclair, I concede the case to you.

Tuesday

Alex Massie

Drug War Madness: Canadian edition

From our UK edition

Most of the time the most lunatic examples of Drug War mania, at least in the English-speaking world, come from the United States. but not always! Today's villains are Canadian. Chris Snowdon has the details of the murderous contempt police in British Columbia have for their citizens. It seems there is a batch of contaminated Ecstasy on sale in western Canada. Five people have been killed. The police know what colour of pills are likely to have caused these deaths and they know what stamps are on the pills. So what are they doing? Nothing at all.

Saturday

Alex Massie

Saturday Morning Country: Townes van Zandt

From our UK edition

This ain't necessarily Townes at his best. Then again, the singing was never the biggest point of TvZ. But of all his songs this is close to being my favourite and not just because it means much to at least one other person. Self-indulgent? Sure. But so what? This is a blog. My blog, actually.

Alex Massie

A strong dose of Devo Max

From our UK edition

Edinburgh Something astonishing is happening in Scotland. For the first time in a political generation the Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party has an opportunity to become relevant to public life north of the Tweed. And it is all thanks to Alex Salmond, now the unlikely potential saviour of Scottish right-of-centre politics.The First Minister is a formidable politician who appreciates that politics is frequently pregnant with irony. This is one such occasion: the Conservatives, steadfast opponents of devolution, can be saved by a stronger dose of Home Rule. That is, Tories should insist on the third option which Salmond wants to offer voters in the referendum on independence. This would fall short of total independence, but increase financial powers for the Scottish parliament.

Friday

Alex Massie

The Pound, the Euro and Other Scottish Pink Herrings

From our UK edition

The crisis in euroland continues unstaunched and, perhaps, irrevocably. Naturally, being self-obsessed sorts and this being the week it is, one is drawn to consider the impact this must have on Alex Salmond and the prospects for Scottish independence. Plainly, the currency question is a difficult one for the First Minister. While the euro seemed solid it was at least straightforward, even though one wondered if swapping monetary policy set by the Bank of England for monetary policy set by the European Central Bank would necessarily be a great bargain. But the euro is no longer solid and uncertainty reigns.

Alex Massie

The Tories & A Third Way: Real Home Rule for Scotland

From our UK edition

How brave are the Scottish Tories? Brave enough to appreciate that they might have to risk the Union to save it? Bold enough to recognise that much greater powers for Holyrood are in their interest just as much as such additional powers are something the SNP craves? Because how can there be a right-of-centre revival while Holyrood is charged with spending but is not expected (or allowed) to do the dirty work of raising its own revenue? And, mark this, Scottish politics needs a centre-right party that is credible and capable of offering an alternative to the smug consensus that otherwise too often dominates Scottish politics. Holyrood is unbalanced at present, both in terms of its responsibilities and the range of views heard within its walls. So what can fix that?

Thursday

Alex Massie

Poor Mitt Romney: He Keeps Winning!

From our UK edition

Mitt Romney's romp to the Republican nomination has not been without its troubles but Romney's difficulties are as nothing compared to those facing a press corps determined to string the primary season out for as long as possible. A Romney victory in South Carolina is bad news for the media. It will ruin the fun. So, with that appalling prospect looming, it's necessary to get creative. Vanity Fair's Todd Purdum wins today's gong for his intriguing theory that Romney is in trouble because he keeps winning. Pity Mitt Romney. It’s hard to imagine anyone else who could do what he’s just done: become the first non-incumbent Republican to win the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary since 1976, when Iowa began to matter, and still manage to seem somehow in trouble.

Alex Massie

Peter Oborne Returns to Form

From our UK edition

After last week's mishap, Peter Oborne returns to form with a column best considered as a mash-note to the Radio Four theme. Because Peter is, essentially, a romantic he allows himself to be carried away by the fond vigour of his desire to see Great Britain preserved for future generations to enjoy. That should not detract from the central thrust of his column: Alex Salmond, that most brilliant and attractive of modern British politicians, is capable of superbly articulating the sense of nobility, romance, mission and fierce patriotism felt by many SNP supporters. Nationalism and the cry for liberty can be an intoxicating cocktail, even at the start of the 21st century. So far his opponents have produced nothing to rival it.

Wednesday

Alex Massie

Newt’s Crazy Kamikaze Mission to Destroy Romney

From our UK edition

Y'all will note that Newt Gingrich asks "Who can beat Barack Obama in the debates?" not "Who can defeat Barack Obama in the general election?" I'd like to think this hints at the existence of some previously unknown aquifer of self-knowledge in Gingrichland but that's plainly preposterous since, if nothing else, Newt's kamikaze assault on Romney won't make him the nominee even were it to be successful. That's one of problems with kamikaze missions, you see. So the only people who really beneift from this are Newt's other rivals and, more importantly, Barack Obama. Nevertheless, it's hard not laugh - and cringe - at this compendium of some of Romney's more dreadful doofus moments.

Alex Massie

The Ron Paul Revolution

From our UK edition

When Mitt Romney secures the Republican presidential nomination, it's pretty clear the last man standing against him will be Ron Paul. The Texas Congressman will be outgunned for sure but he is the only one of Romney's rivals with the money and the doggedness to keep going even after it becomes clear Romney is going to be the nominee. As Freddy observed earlier, Ron Paul's result in New Hampshire was properly remarkable. Four years ago, Paul won 8% of the vote in the Granite State. That was a pretty nifty result for a candidate who had been almost entirely ignored by the mainstream press and, on the rare occasions he was granted a moment in the TV glare, generally mocked.

Alex Massie

Everything Changes and Yet Everything Remains the Same

From our UK edition

Today's commentary on the independence referendum kerfuffle is out-sourced to the Daily Mash: As Scottish first minister Alex Salmond set out his timetable for an independence referendum, he was dealt a devastating blow after research showed separation from the UK would make absolutely no difference whatsoever. Professor Henry Brubaker, of the Institute for Studies, said: "It will still be damp, windy and miles from everywhere." "The Scottish people will continue to shop, drink, complain, work for the council, eat beige food and hate each other because of football, religion or some bastard hybrid of the two." [...] "They will also retain their baffling sense of entitlement and the government will still interfere constantly in people's lives.

Alex Massie

Romney’s March Continues

From our UK edition

Bill Kristol, in his ongoing bid to supplant Dick Morris's as America's Worst Pundit, has been trying to spin Mitt Romney's victory in the New Hampshire primary as a disappointing outcome for Romney. By the time the ballots are all counted, however, Romney will have taken close to (and perhaps more than) 40% of the votes and become the first Republican (barring sitting Presidents) to win both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary. Yeah, that's a campaign that's in trouble and struggling to get "traction". Sure, something could happen to defeat Romney. Sure, he's not a compelling front-runner. Sure, there are reasons to be worried that turnout in the GOP contests thus far has been lower than might have been predicted a year ago.

Tuesday

Alex Massie

Alex Salmond Claims his Date

From our UK edition

Since I was watching the House of Commons just now, I needed twitter to tell me that it seems as though Alex Salmond, ever the tweaker, has announced he wants to hold his referendum in the autumn of 2014. Hurrah. That's fine. No need, in my view, for Westminster to object to this. On the contrary all parties should welcome it. All that Westminster needs to do is make sure the referendum billl can survive any legal challenge. Then we can get on with the game. The most importat thing is that the principle of the thing is now agreed. The detail can be sorted out in due course. What larks, eh?

Alex Massie

Michael Moore’s Quietly Sensible Consultation

From our UK edition

Michael Moore's statement to the House of Commons on the question of how a referendum on Scotland's constitutional future may be held was clear, composed, sensible and modest. In other words it was everything that the last few days have not been. The Prime Minister in particular - as bemoaned here, here and here - has not distinguished himself in recent times. Perhaps it is fairer (it is certainly kinder) to presume this was just as innocent a cock-up as any Prime Ministerial cock-up can be; regardless is was a desperate piece of floundering that made Mr Cameron look something of a chump.