Wake up Jack!

Mr Salmond rarely misses a trick. The Scotsman reports:

"ALEX Salmond has written to Scotland's top civil servant, requesting formal pre-election contact between the civil service and the SNP, it emerged yesterday.
The SNP leader has contacted Sir John Elvidge, the permanent secretary at the Scottish Executive, to ask for a meeting to smooth a possible transition to an SNP administration.
Mr Salmond plans to publish detailed proposals for the SNP's first 100 days in power in the near future. He insisted that it was important civil servants were fully prepared to take these initiatives forward.
He said: "I want to see a smooth transition next year from the Labour-Liberal Democrat Executive to an SNP-led Scottish government. As First Minister, I want to be in a position to hit the ground running so we can begin to make the changes Scotland needs."

If Mr Salmond secures a meeting with the permanent secretary, he enhances his credibility as a potential First Minister and drives a wedge between Mr McConnell and the senior officials of the Executive. If Sir John turns him down, Mr Salmond has a legitimate complaint about the partiality of the Scottish civil service in favour of the current administration. Either way, he can't lose.

Meanwhile, our current First Minister seems to meander along, sniffing the flowers, without making any impression upon the electorate...