 | 'Mike Russell ... could make his party electable by taking it by the scruff of the neck, challenging it to reorient itself to winning power, and so knock some electability into it.' Sunday Herald Editorial, 27 th June 2004. |  |
| 'Mike Russell ... could make his party electable by taking it by the scruff of the neck, challenging it to reorient itself to winning power, and so knock some electability into it.' Sunday Herald Editorial, 27 th June 2004. | |
THE SNP, the party that more than any other champions Scottish advancement, stands at a crossroads and as a result so does Scotland. Scotland can either accept the inevitable decline, relative and actual, of regional status or look to similar-sized nations in Europe and strive for the powers of independence.
Therefore, the future leadership of the SNP is a question with repercussions that are more than party political. I, and many other SNP members, hope that Michael Russell will enter the fray, giving the SNP a contest and the nation hope.
Mr Russell is a politician of genuine stature, possessing a fine wit, and is also a great orator who could be a unifying force within the SNP. He is feared by Labour and is seen by friend and foe outside the SNP as having the crucial quality of being an electoral asset.
Some may feel that by not being in the devolved parliament Mr Russell is at a disadvantage for leading the party of independence. Surely, though, asking Jack McConnell questions he never answers at an unreported first minister's question time is not the be-all-and-end-all of the independence effort.
By being initially free of the parliament, the personable and energetic Michael Russell, as new SNP leader, would have the time to engage wider Scotland on the obvious advantages of independence, which would be to the SNP's democratic advantage.
Angus B MacNeil, 58 Tangasdale, Isle of Barra, Outer Hebrides.
It is a sad day when a decent man is hounded out of his job. I do not doubt Iain Macwhirter when he says it was not the press to blame for his departure, but those within the SNP who were all too keen to trash their leader with "off the record" comments. I have experience of their methods, and there is no end to their appetite for nastiness. What is significant is that John Swinney's decency seems to be used as a criticism.
He won and kept a seat for the SNP (Tayside North), by establishing himself in the trust and affections of people, not just by developing attractive policies: trust is essential between politicians and voters. If there were people with John Swinney's personal qualities campaigning for the SNP in half the constituencies in Scotland, the SNP would be forging ahead.
If, on the other hand, you have people who do an excellent impersonation of the Labour Party, you only confirm the cynicism the public have about all politicians. There is, of course, no chance that the assassins will take a good hard look at themselves, and wonder if they contribute to the party's malaise; but there lies the root of the problem: why people will not campaign for them and why people do not vote for them in sufficient numbers.
All of which has nothing whatsoever to do with John Swinney's perceived shortcomings. I hope he has a much deserved break from a thankless task; he is certainly the most pleasant and genuine politician I have met.
Andrew C Wilson, Kirktonholm, Station Road, Howwood.
THE challenge for the new SNP leader, whoever it may be, is to prosecute vigorously and with conviction the need for Scottish independence, and that means exposing the so-called Scottish Parliament for what it is: a sham and a unionist fiefdom, designed to smother the aspirations of the Scottish people.
Unfortunately, the SNP has settled down in the mediocre parliament with its limited powers, and has been perceived by those Scots who believe in independence to be just the same as the unionist parties, content to play meaningless political games and pay lip-service to the central cause of its existence: independence.
When did the party last launch a campaign throughout Scotland specifically on the most important policy of all Ð the "freedom of our nation" Ð which all other issues flow from?
The SNP in its five years in what is an excuse for the parliament, as most Scots agree, has done little to improve their lives, and has not led a debate on the powers of independence and the constraints placed upon Holyrood by Westminster.
I firmly believe that a large part of the haemorrhaging of the SNP votes at three different elections over the past few years has been due to the disillusionment of independence supporters who have stayed at home, sickened by the weak, supine attitude of the SNP leadership and its apparent abandonment of the cause which attracted activists from all walks of life to fight for the honourable and noble cause of political freedom for our country.
Where have the fire, the resilience and determination gone that existed before we entered council chambers and the Scottish Parliament? Some would argue that they have been dissipated and buried under a multiplicity of policies, with some SNP representatives concentrating on policy detail and careers, which has led inevitably to the subsequent decline of the independence message.
Swopping leaders will make little or no impact unless there is a new focusing on the national liberation of Scotland and a confident leadership that is prepared to lead and galvanise the Scottish people towards independence, without which we will remain a second-class nation with a third-rate parliament.
Councillor Jim Mitchell, Renfrewshire Council, Cotton Street, Paisley.
Please let Scots do as Jim Fairlie suggests (Letters, June 23), and ask French and Germans about the euro (no longer a hot topic in the countries that adopted it) and, while they're at it, let them also take a peek at the quality of life and social provision in these benighted countries.
Tom O'Hagan, 140 rue des Sources, L-2542 Luxembourg.
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