Never before have so many waited so keenly to hear Alistair Darling speak. Tonight’s the night, however, and the fate of a nation hangs upon his words. Or so some folk would have us believe. Anyway: two hours of Alistair Darling, live on prime time television. We chosen people, we.
In truth, Darling is still the Other Guy in tonight’s debate with Alex Salmond just as the Better Together campaign has been the Other Lot for most of the independence referendum campaign. What he says and what they do matter; just not nearly as much as what Alex Salmond says and what the Yes campaign does. They are the fellows making the running; they are the crew with the point to prove and the people to convince.
The No campaign have, as is traditional in these matters, have done their best to scuttle expectations. Salmond, apparently, must leave Darling ‘lying on the floor’ and any failure to do so will mean that, technically like, Salmond will have lost the debate.
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