"HELLO? The lights are on at the Scottish Executive, but is anyone at home? The globe-trotting proclivities of Jack McConnell, Scotland's nomadic First Minister, have increasingly drawn criticism from his political opponents. Next week his absence in the United States will be complemented by his Lib Dem deputy, Nicol Stephen, who is going abroad on a family holiday.
So, who will be in charge? Will there be a dangerous power vacuum, or will we find we are better governed with both men out of the country? We should not indulge in knee-jerk, Calvinist denunciation of all McConnell's overseas travel. A stay-at-home First Minister would miss opportunities for promoting Scotland.
But Jack seems to lack a sense of moderation. The Queen went to Australia to attend the Commonwealth Games for three days; the First Minister stayed far longer, and then stopped off for a Nixon moment in China at the end of his nine-day sojourn."
This is grossly unfair. If Mr McConnell hadn't gone to Melbourne, then the Scottish team would never have won all those medals.
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