On his appointment as Secretary of State for Scotland we were told that Alistair Carmichael would bring something new to the debate on Scotlands constitutional status. So far, however, there is little evidence that he has anything to offer other than the hypocrisy, duplicity and dishonesty that we have grown accustomed to from the anti-independence campaign. Hypocrisy, because if one wants to see red-white-and-blue patriotism trumpeted in all its tacky, hackneyed, jingoistic glory then one need only visit the Better Together website. There is barely an utterance that emanates from the bowels of Project Fear which is not prefaced by some overly elaborate assurance as to the authors ethnic credentials. It is notable that people in the Yes campaign generally find such trumpeting of their Scottishness totally redundant. This may, of course, be because they take it as a given that they have Scotlands best interests at heart. Or it may be because ethnicity simply isnt a significant element of Scotlands civic nationalism. It certainly isnt the constant obsession that it is for the British nationalists in Better Together. Methinks Mr Carmichael doth protest too much. While there may be no disputing the fact that nobody has a right to question his Scottishness in the shallow ethnic sense that he uses the term, it is totally valid for anybody to question his Scottishness in the sense of whose interests he represents. Like any Scottish Secretary, Alistair Carmichael represents the British state in Scotland. The duplicity and dishonesty lies in the pretence that he represents the interests of Scotland in the British cabinet. Wed have to go some way back in history to find that last SoS who could be described with any accuracy as Scotlands man. And the same question regarding loyalty and priorities hangs over all who actively campaign to deny the sovereignty of the people of Scotland, simply by virtue of the fact that they are campaigning to deny the sovereignty of the people of Scotland. We may not be entitled to question their Scottishness. But we are perfectly entitled to ask where their first loyalty lies. And whether or not their foremost priority is the welfare of Scotlands people or whether it is the preservation of the structures of power and privilege which define the British state. As history has taught us, being 100% Scottish does not preclude being part of a parcel of rogues.
Posted on: Mon, 11 Nov 2013 12:19:20 +0000
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