I was in a discussion with an ex-boss and his friends back home. My ex-boss is Scottish migrant and supports Scotland staying in the UK. While many of his friends don’t. I listed what happened to Ireland.
It turns out that as terrible Ireland was and despite it’s at peace at last and as sort of a Celtic tiger for some years until 2009, Ireland has kind of been an impoverished Switzerland on the edge of Europe. Dublin was the second largest city of the British Empire in the 18th and 19tg centuries, they produced illustrious writers like Oscar Wilde and Uliness (sp?). Trinity College of Dublin was one of the most prestigious universities in those days.
And now in 2014, Trinity College and the University College Ireland are languishing at about 200th in terms of best a academia in the world. Modern Ireland is only famous for U2, Ryanair, and US software industry outsourcing destination. But otherwise Ireland is as inconsequential to the world as Switzerland (really the Swiss are there to host the UN and it’s banks).
The best, and I think it’s wildly optimistic, scenario of an independent Scotland will be it becomes the Switzerland of northwestern Europe, probably a neutral country like Switzerland and Ireland. But the price is that it, just as Switzerland and Ireland do, will be independent by pleasure of greater powers, but will not be able to withstand any pressure exerted by the bigger powers’ bullying. And just like Switzerland and Ireland, they won’t amount to much or even anything and will no longer be able to contribute immensely for the good of human race in a substabtial way like it is as part of the UK. It will be a boring far away small country you think of for 2 minutes every year.
The more likely scenario will be endless disputes with what’s left of the UK and Norway over intellectual property rights, inheriting national debts, pressure to join EU and renew the Auld Alliance with France and because of the modern Franco-German core in the EU, Angela Merkel or whoever succeeds her as the German Chancellor will become the real person pulling the levers in Edinburgh. You then have disputes in EEZ (economic zones) in the North Sea. I note that Croatia still hasn’t resolved the EEZ with Slovenia and Italy more than 22 years after independent. Who says that Scotland won’t suffer suits filed by The UK and Noraay at the ICJ in The Hague? Also you get the issue of economic policy. This article shows that nationalisation and confiscation by thugs will be the rule of Scotland under Salmond. They will follow Hogo chavez’s or Eva peron’s economic policies. I think this means that this Scotland will increasingly become like a Belarus or Moldova basket case.
Either way independence will aid the EU as well. I thought creepers are against it?
I’m not saying I believe this will turn out well for an indy Scotland...I’m just saying the Scots are plenty intelligent enough to go it alone. It’s just that their present penchant for socialism and anti-U.S./western policies makes me believe they’re going to have a rough time of it.