Posted on 10/13/2024 1:51:49 AM PDT by RandFan
Alex Salmond has died at the age of 69.
Love or loathe Mr Salmond - who was described as a "Marmite man" during his high-profile court case - few would dispute his skill and achievements as a politician.
Under the leadership of the keen golfer and horse racing fan, the SNP rose to power and became a titan party north of the border.
Some would argue if it were not for the political talent of Mr Salmond, there would have been no Scottish independence referendum at all in 2014.
As the tributes flood in following his death, we take a look at the man who was once first minister of Scotland.
Mr Salmond was first elected to Westminster in 1987 as the SNP MP for Banff and Buchan - a position he retained until 2010.
In 1990, he successfully defeated Margaret Ewing in the SNP leadership contest and would go on to campaign for Scottish devolution in 1997.
In 1999, after the establishment of the Scottish Parliament as a result of devolution, he led his party through the first Scottish parliament election and became MSP for Banff and Buchan as well as leader of the opposition - with Labour in power.
A year later, Mr Salmond quit as SNP leader amid a series of high-profile fallouts with party members and was replaced by current first minister John Swinney.
In 2001, he then stood down from Holyrood in order to lead the SNP group at Westminster.
Following a highly effective campaign in the 2007 Scottish election, the SNP gained 20 seats, giving the party a total of 47 seats in Holyrood - one more than Scottish Labour.
Although the party didn't have an overall majority, new Gordon MSP Mr Salmond became first minister of Scotland in 2007.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.sky.com ...
He wouldn't appreciate me using the "United Kingdom" category but that's the way it is until they decide otherwise...
Salmond was of course a faux-nationalist. His pro-European (eg pro-EU) stance may have had a historical heritage, but his policies would have propelled Scotalnd to become a northern colony of the EU-empire.
Agreed. Never made sense to me either.
He was a big figure though
Sky News shows you can disagree with a person and still respect them and their accomplishments.
However his "Scottish Nationalism" was 100% fake. Scotland would have been no more than a region of the European Union governed from Brussels, Berlin and Paris.
Isn't that so much better than "remote" Westminster /s
Yep total logical fail
That’s why they lost the referendum in 2014.
Anyone got a clue as to what that means? My Internet searches yielded nothing enlightening - other than "a person who likes eating Marmite-brand yeast extract bread spread." But I suspect that it is being used metaphorically here.
Thanks in advance!
Regards,
In all likelihood Salmond was an intelligent person who should have seen that as well as we do. So as RandFan asked, how did that make sense?
I think one reason was the same old policies that Scotland used against England during medieval times and all through the 16th and 17th centuries - allying with France and Spain.
Remember how the EC (as it was then) conspired with Tory traitors to unseat Margaret Thatcher. I think it is very likely that the same thing happened re Scotland. Remember the Major government, although it accepted the Maastricht treaty, was still seen as problem for further “integration” of the EU. So, if you want to understand why Salmond*s policies re the EU was as they were I think one could do worse than try to follow the money. That would be a task for historians of the growth of the EU. I am not necessarily saying the SNP was bribed, just that the EU started to advocate for the grand socialist policies that they thought would have kept an independent Scotland afloat.
(Of course Scotland would have gone the same way as Greece, and possibly worse given that the EU in all likelihood would have imposed a hard border against England.)
It’s a saying...
The owners of Marmite (Vegemite in the US?) ran a campaign saying “You either love it or you hate it”
Seems to have stuck and considered a genius marketing campaign.
I think rather basic desires are also involved. The SNP would get a seat at the big table along with the likes of France and Germany. Just think how super important they would be, at least in their own eyes.
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