Greece… is the word

Unusually for this time of year, last Sunday saw me enjoying an evening where I wasn’t expected to be playing anywhere with the band. Thanks to a rare piece of forward planning, I managed to wangle the night off to watch the European Championship Final between host nation Portugal and an unfancied Greek team.

As we all now know, the Greeks, who started as rank 80-1 outsiders in the eyes of the bookies, claimed an unlikely victory to lift the trophy. In the end, their direct, no-nonsense approach, which had helped turf out such hallowed opponents as the Czech Republic and France, triumphed over a mercurial but nonetheless vulnerable Portuguese side enjoying a home advantage. What a way for the Greeks to key up for bringing the Olympic Games home to Athens in just a few weeks time!

So, to the victor the spoils, then? Well, not quite. While the Greeks bask in the success of winning a major international football tournament for the first time in their history, the Portuguese emerge with great credit for serving up such an entertaining sporting carnival. Although many thousands of fans made the trip to Portugal to follow the fortunes of their national sides, I predict that many, many more tourists will be drawn to the country, enchanted by the images they saw during the tournament.

Now the tournament is over, the Portuguese will have not just the memories, but also the legacy of improvements in their sporting and transport infrastructure. The Greeks, of course, can look forward to much the same windfall once the Olympics has passed. Perhaps most important of all, though, is the shot in the arm which hosting the championships has given the Portuguese people.

Watching the spectacle, it was hard to believe that it just 18 years have passed since Portugal joined the EEC and just 30 years since a military coup overthrew the fascist dictatorship and put the country on the road to democracy. If it wasn’t already, Portugal is now firmly on the map as a modern place to travel to and to do business in.

However, it’s hard not to reflect on the fact that an increased profile and an improved infrastructure could also have been Scotland’s to look forward to if we’d been successful in our bid to win the 2008 championship. What a pity Jack McConnell couldn’t see the benefits the championship might bring and instead insisted on a joint bid with the Irish Republic, knowing full well that the lack of available stadia in the Republic would almost certainly doom our bid to failure. Instead, Austria and Switzerland now have a chance to showcase the best of their respective nations when the carnival comes around again in 2008.

Unlamented former First Minister Henry McLeish’s vision for Scotland may have floundered when expressed beyond the back pages of the Daily Record, but at least he had a big idea of sorts. In contrast, what vision can McConnell speak of? All answers on a set of unionist blinkers, please, to the usual address.

A shameless plug

This weekend, hordes of Scotland’s young and young at heart will converge on a muddy field in Kinross-shire for one of the summer’s premier music festivals. Bands such as Snow Patrol, The Chemical Brothers and The Darkness will strut their stuff as an estimated 80,000 revelers hit Balado airfield for the weekend.

Hopefully a few of these people will find their way to the now infamous ceilidh tent because on the Sunday, a certain band from Edinburgh will be playing a set from 3-5 in the afternoon. Modesty forbids me from revealing my connection with the band, but suffice to say I get in without paying this year provided I take my electric fiddle with me!

Scottish traditional music has enjoyed something of a renaissance over the last 30 years. However, even when I was at school, it was viewed by many music teachers as something which was at best a curiosity and at worst a distraction from more ‘sophisticated’ forms of the art. Against this backdrop, the fact that an entire venue at a major rock festival is now dedicated to folk music speaks volumes for the popularity which strands of traditional music have amongst the under 40’s.

Anyway, my thoughts on music tuition in schools and the Scottish living tradition are probably best left for another edition of the Flag. In the meantime, roll on Sunday afternoon and the chance to play to a new audience in a place where no-one’s going to tell us to turn the volume down!

Cometh the hour, cometh the women…

When Alex Salmond stood down as SNP leader, George Reid was to my mind the best person to take over the job. The SNP was still reeling from the onslaught it had faced at the 1999 elections, while hostility to the home rule project was growing in the media. The Empire was striking back against nationalists and it needed someone to re-establish the legitimacy of the Independence argument, in the process setting the SNP on the road to being a party of government.

It struck me that as a politician of international standing and one of the country’s most gifted communicators, someone of George’s calibre could have let the SNP rise above these problems and helped retain people’s faith in home rule. A 6 – 8 year convenership would also have allowed other candidates, such as John Swinney for example, to grow in stature and be better prepared for the responsibilities of leadership when they eventually came. However, it wasn’t to be and I still feel that his decision not to stand was a significant long-term setback to the party.

These ‘what ifs’ came back to me as news spread of John’s decision to stand down as SNP leader following a setback at the European elections. John was always handicapped by his public image as a ‘weak’ leader. However, nothing could have been further from the truth. I am genuinely sorry to see him go in this manner, for as leader he did much that was good for the party which I hope will soon begin to receive the recognition it deserves.

It’s easy to forget the problems which the SNP was facing as John took over. The party was in financial difficulties after a chronic overspend during the 1999 Scottish election campaign. A significant number of party activists were also beginning to grumble about both the financial situation and the conduct of the campaign.

In the recent past, there had been 2 very public fallings-out between the party leader and 2 different treasurers – on this, I only make the Panglossian comment that it would have been better if neither dispute had broken out at all. All of this was compounded by often chaotic internal organisation and an outdated party constitution, which allowed unrepresentative minorities to exert disproportionate influence over the party.

John took the party by the scruff of the neck and forced it to confront these issues. He secured the party’s future by introducing one member one vote and a centralised membership system. He also oversaw a comprehensive re-writing of the party constitution which was approved at the Aberdeen conference earlier this year. This was a long overdue reform which notionally ‘strong’ leaders of the past had always avoided facing up to, for fear of offending the vested interests within the party which had flourished under the status quo.

Under his convenership, the party also began to establish a consensus in Scotland for the Parliament to have more powers. John’s plea for people who don’t support Independence at the moment to ‘walk with us’ began to resonate in business circles and in civic Scotland, particularly with the arguments for fiscal freedom. In the process, despite the electoral setbacks he had to endure, he did much to lay the foundations necessary for any future SNP advance.

Much of what John said and did during his time as SNP leader was long overdue. It says much about the current state of Scottish politics that at a time when we complain about politicians lacking conviction and integrity, as a nation we refused to warm to a modest, thoughtful, decent guy like John who demonstrated these qualities in spades.

So what of the contenders? One weel-kent face who has thrown his hat into the ring is Mike Russell. Mike, of course, caused consternation earlier in the year amongst John’s closest supporters with remarks he made in the press about ‘men in grey kilts’ paying the leader a visit if the European election result was poor.

Most SNP members have a low tolerance threshold for those who so openly criticise the leaders of the party. Thanks largely to his interventions as a ‘commentator’, I suspect Mike is about to fall victim to the old Scottish adage that ‘If ye flee wi’ the craws, ye get shot wi’ the craws’. Unless he can come up soon with a convincing reason why a non-MSP can lead the party, his role appears destined to be restricted to make a contribution in terms of ideas only.

So what then of Roseanna Cunningham and Nicola Sturgeon? Well, I confess to being at a loss. Do I vote for Roseanna’s recognition factor or Nicola’s political sure-footedness? Roseanna’s proven appeal to ‘mainstream Scotland’ (remember that?) or Nicola’s mastery of her brief in Parliament? Roseanna’s experience or Nicola’s relative youth? Roseanna’s legendary feistiness in debate or Nicola’s equally legendary feistiness in debate?

At this stage, I just don’t know. Nicola and Roseanna have been as thick as thieves since ever I joined the SNP and I have to admit it’s taking a bit of getting used to seeing them go head to head for the convenership. It must be a strange experience for them as well, but hopefully they can overcome this to set out their respective stalls in the weeks ahead and help the party’s members make their minds up.

Oddly enough, I found the most apposite lesson for the SNP this week not amongst the kites being flown by candidates or amongst the ‘helpful’ councils of the Scottish press corps, but in Kathimerini, a Greek English-language newspaper. Commenting on their team’s success in the European Championships, the paper said:

“Our national soccer team's epic achievement in the European soccer championship in Portugal is a lesson that fortune not only smiles on the brave but also on those who put up a passionate fight and work systematically and steadily to achieve their aims”.

Wise words indeed. SNP leadership contenders, declared and undeclared, please take note.

SYNOPSIS

HUDGHTON ELECTED AS GROUP LEADER

Scottish National Party MEP, Ian Hudghton, has been elected to lead the European Free Alliance (EFA) Parliamentary Group in the European Parliament. Mr Hudghton succeeds Flemish Euro-MP Nelly Maes as President of the EFA Group, which draws together political parties from the stateless nations and regions of Europe.

In the European Parliament, European Free Alliance MEPs sit in a group alongside Green Euro-MPs from across Europe, bringing the group total to 42 MEPs. In addition to leading EFA, it was confirmed today that Mr Hudghton will also serve as Vice President of the Green / EFA Parliamentary Group.

Speaking from the Parliament in Brussels this afternoon, Mr Hudghton said: "Fighting for the interests of those countries like Scotland, not yet not fully represented at the European level is much enhanced by being part of a sizeable group in the European Parliament. It's an honour to be chosen for this position and I'm proud to accept this new role".

DUTCH MEP JOINS SNP GROUP IN EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT

SNP MEPs Mr Alyn Smith and Mr Ian Hudghton have today (Tuesday) welcomed recently elected Dutch MEP and anti-fraud campaigner Mr Paul van Buitenen to their political group within the European Parliament.

Mr van Buitenen, a former European official, became known as an anti-fraud whistle-blower, and has announced his intention to join the same political group in the European Parliament as the Scottish National Party, the "Groupe Verts/Alliance libre européenne".

Welcoming the news, Mr Smith said:

"I'm delighted that Paul will be coming to join us in the group. The SNP has long campaigned for reform of the Parliament's expenses regime. In Scotland and elsewhere we uphold a transparent, open democracy and it is a ringing endorsement that Paul will be working with us over the next five years.

"A great many electors across Europe turned away from the Parliament in the last election and the perception of the institution must have something to do with that. I have been told that over 60 percent of the MEPs for this session are newly elected, so hopefully we will be able to take meaningful steps towards reform and I look forward to working with Paul to achieve this aim."

Speaking later, Mr Hudghton said:

"One of the first votes I took part in, in 1998 was to censure the European Commission - a vote which led to the resignation of the entire Commission."

"In the Parliament, I have been a member of the Campaign for Reform since its foundation and look forward to working with Paul van Buitenen and our expanding group towards that end."

LIB DEM FINANCE PAPER WILL DAMAGE SCOTLAND

Shadow Economy and Enterprise Minister Mr Jim Mather MSP has labelled a Lib Dem plan for Scotland’s finances, unveiled by Jeremy Purvis today (Wednesday) as “unworkable and regressive”, which will damage Scotland and Scottish lives.

Commenting Mr Mather said:

“Jeremy Purvis’s plan for Scotland’s finances will not produce the same crucial beneficial effects of making Scotland more competitive and more prosperous in the same way as full financial freedom.

“This announcement wallows in the negativity of the discredited GERS exercise, making no attempt to make proper adjustments for oil revenues, Income Tax, Corporation Tax, the impact of more head offices with senior jobs and the impact of fair share of civil service & defence jobs. Instead, he implicitly forgives the structural damage to the Scottish economy and assumes that our country is to be condemned to a low fixed ceiling of national income.

“His suggestions are unworkable and regressive, hardly a formula for making Scotland more competitive and better able to produce, attract and retain talented people. Not only that but they do not have the support of people in his own party.

“I am left with the impression that Fiscal Federalism is just another Lib-Dem concept like “Constitutional Stability”; another ploy designed to justify further delay in growing this Parliament’s powers, and thereby allow the Lib Dems to stay in power with a faint hint of a desire for progress. It is a strategy without merit that can only damage Scotland and Scottish lives.”

BLAIR REFUSES TO SUPPORT SCOTTISH REGIMENTS

SNP LEADS CHARGE TO DEFEND MILITARY UNITS

Tony Blair has refused to support Scottish regiments during Prime Ministers Questions. According to military insiders Scots units are under threat from Treasury cuts, which could be announced by the government as soon as next week.

The Scottish National Party’s Defence Spokesman and MP for Moray, Angus Robertson MP today questioned Prime Minister Blair over the future of Scotland’s regiments. He sought assurances from the Prime Minister during today’s [Wednesday 6 July 2004] Prime Minister’s question time in the House of Commons.

Over the past few days there have been a reports that Scottish regiments are to be axed as a part of the Treasury spending review. This has met with opposition from senior military figures and experts as well as the communities they serve.

Speaking after Prime Ministers Question Time SNP Defence spokesman Angus Robertson MP said:

“The Scottish regiments have provided the backbone to the army for generations. Their skills, expertise and professionalism are second to none. In a time of global instability and insecurity these qualities are now needed like never before.

“Yet even today as they serve across the globe, Scotland’s regiments face their biggest threat on the home front. As the Treasury bean counters persist in undermining the regiments, Labour is set to let them, their families and veterans down. First Minister McConnell is unprepared to fight for our historic regiments, Chancellor Gordon Brown won’t fund them and Prime Minister Blair won’t defend them.

“The Defence Ministers and Labour are acting like fearties. Now that the Labour party are in a position to stand up for our regiments, like the Tories before them, they refuse to do so. Once again Labour has demonstrated that once in government they are unwilling and unprepared to stand up for Scotland.”

SNP CONDEMN GOVERNMENT DECISION TO PRESS AHEAD WITH TAX STAMPS

‘FLAWED TAX STAMP POLICY LEFT INTACT’

The Treasury has today announced that it is to press ahead with the introduction of whisky tax stamps in spite of criticism from the industry, Scottish Affairs Committee and the SNP amongst others.

Scottish National Party MP for Perth, Annabelle Ewing, has reiterated her criticism of the introduction of tax stamps.

Speaking today Annabelle Ewing MP said:

“So far the government’s plans to introduce whisky tax stamps has been criticised by the industry, trade unions, the Scotch Whisky Association as well as Committees of both MPs and peers amongst others. Even the National Audit Office criticised the plan due to the flawed calculations that were used.

“The plan to introduce tax stamps is fundamentally flawed. Whilst some changes in the details have been examined and that is to be welcomed, it is does not change the fact the flawed policy has been left intact.

“Those Labour MPs who previously supported the industry in public and against the industry in the House of Commons will have one last opportunity to redeem themselves. Let’s hope they take it, only a vote against these disastrous tax stamps will be enough.”

JARVIS SURVIVAL FIGHT POSES THREAT TO PFI PROJECTS

Fergus Ewing MSP has today called on the Executive to explain the potential implications for existing PFI projects after it was announced that engineering contractors Jarvis are fighting for survival. Mr Ewing said "Jarvis have worked on several projects in Scotland already, including university accommodation, the West Coast mainline and has recently been awarded the contract to build nine new community schools in Fife. My main concern is that not only could these recent financial problems impact on the maintenance of existing projects but could also have a massive effect on the completion of new work." Mr Ewing went on to criticise PFI not only for its higher price tag, but also for exposing public sector projects to unnecessary risks.