The Herald reports:
Strange days, and about to become stranger. Was that Annabel Goldie we heard saying "Take me, I'm yours!" (or similar) to Jack McConnell? Was that Nicola Sturgeon insisting Scotland's radioactive legacy is not to be bought and sold for English gold (or equivalent)?
And was that Jack once again promoting the best wee nuclear waste dumper in the world? "Stand up for Scotland," he seemed to cry, "and seize the chance to send our rubbish to England!"
Some might say it's what we've been doing for centuries, but such was the tenor of yesterday's debate. The election campaign is being billed as a contest between the Union Divvy, that unbeatable cashback scheme, and the Independence Bonus Ball, that unrepeatable offer. It is odder by far.
Things are happening at the white-hot core of Scottish politics. I wouldn't call it meltdown, but temperatures are rising and reactions have become unpredictable. The safest thing might be to bury the lot under concrete, but Enrique Miralles already tried that.
One constant remains: Jack still won't say if he favours new nuclear power stations.
The problem is that if the First Minister comes out as pro-nuclear he risks offending many potential Labour voters, not to mention his coalition partners the LibDems. If he comes out as anti-nuclear, he risks having his position reversed by the union battalions in the Labour Party as well as being over-ridden by Westminster where Messrs Darling and Blair are less than respectful of the anti-nuclear lobby. So, instead of taking a clear position one way or the other, poor Mr McConnell has to lurk in the closet of indecision.
Unfortunately, it is now getting to the stage where failure to decide is attracting almost as much opprobrium and derision as either of the other options. It would be stretching the matter to suggest that I feel some sympathy for the First Minister in his quandary. You can see how he was forced into the closet, but how is he going to get himself out?
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