Much of Alex Salmond’s speech on the occasion of his re-election as First Minister was entirely unobjectionable and some of it was even eloquent. A shame, then, that his peroration threw all that away:
A change is coming, and the people are ready. They put ambition ahead of hesitation. The process is not about endings. It is about beginnings.
Whatever changes take place in our constitution, we will remain close to our neighbours. We will continue to share a landmass, a language and a wealth of experience and history with the other peoples of these islands
My dearest wish is to see the countries of Scotland and England stand together as equals There is a difference between partnership and subordination. The first encourages mutual respect. The second breeds resentment.
Emphasis added. This Scotland subordinate? Our multiform, our infinite Scotland, subordinate? Only as a patch of history may be a cliche corner.
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