I find it hard to conceptualize the legacy of Alex Salmond. I’ve never lived in a Scotland with him as First Minister, but at the same time, and maybe more importantly, haven’t known a Scotland he hasn’t impacted politically. Before moving to Edinburgh in 2015, we would have an annual holiday to Scotland to visit family. I can vaguely remember the growth of the independence movement over each year. A particular memory is from South Queensferry, when I asked my mum about the big YES campaign sticker in a nearby kitchen window we passed. When she explained to me the upcoming referendum I remember being shocked. Why would any Scottish person not want to be part of the UK?
Over the past 10 years since my identity has evolved. I now tell people I’m Scottish, not British and often wonder what I would have voted if I had been old enough and living in Scotland. This will be due to a number of reasons, but with the recent influx of posts commemorating Salmond, I can’t help but reflect and wonder how much I owe this pride in my country and nationality to how he revolutionized Scottish politics.
Being an actual Scottish person at Edinburgh uni, one of the first questions you get asked is what you think of independence. I tell people that I don’t think another referendum will happen, but if it did I truly don’t know what I’d vote for. Whatever happens next in Scottish politics, it’s unlikely we’d see such a strong campaign for independence as the one Salmond led.
I don’t think it can be said that the decline of the SNP is solely due to his lack of leadership, contrary to what some would say. The SNP is a party that has been plagued by an onslaught on scandals in recent years, including that of the sexual harassment allegations made against Salmond himself and the subsequent trial, in which he was found innocent. Despite that being the verdict, it unquestionably tainted his legacy.
How should we remember Salmond; for the highs he brought the SNP to or the fractured state of the party he inevitably played his part in doing? I find myself in the second camp, for no reason other than that is the legacy of his I’ve more so experienced. Maybe the more fair and more generous perspective is from someone who can reflect on the bigger picture, but that’s not a perspective I can give.
“Portrait of Alex Salmond” by Scottish Government is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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Reflections on a post-Salmond Scotland
I find it hard to conceptualize the legacy of Alex Salmond. I’ve never lived in a Scotland with him as First Minister, but at the same time, and maybe more importantly, haven’t known a Scotland he hasn’t impacted politically. Before moving to Edinburgh in 2015, we would have an annual holiday to Scotland to visit family. I can vaguely remember the growth of the independence movement over each year. A particular memory is from South Queensferry, when I asked my mum about the big YES campaign sticker in a nearby kitchen window we passed. When she explained to me the upcoming referendum I remember being shocked. Why would any Scottish person not want to be part of the UK?
Over the past 10 years since my identity has evolved. I now tell people I’m Scottish, not British and often wonder what I would have voted if I had been old enough and living in Scotland. This will be due to a number of reasons, but with the recent influx of posts commemorating Salmond, I can’t help but reflect and wonder how much I owe this pride in my country and nationality to how he revolutionized Scottish politics.
Being an actual Scottish person at Edinburgh uni, one of the first questions you get asked is what you think of independence. I tell people that I don’t think another referendum will happen, but if it did I truly don’t know what I’d vote for. Whatever happens next in Scottish politics, it’s unlikely we’d see such a strong campaign for independence as the one Salmond led.
I don’t think it can be said that the decline of the SNP is solely due to his lack of leadership, contrary to what some would say. The SNP is a party that has been plagued by an onslaught on scandals in recent years, including that of the sexual harassment allegations made against Salmond himself and the subsequent trial, in which he was found innocent. Despite that being the verdict, it unquestionably tainted his legacy.
How should we remember Salmond; for the highs he brought the SNP to or the fractured state of the party he inevitably played his part in doing? I find myself in the second camp, for no reason other than that is the legacy of his I’ve more so experienced. Maybe the more fair and more generous perspective is from someone who can reflect on the bigger picture, but that’s not a perspective I can give.
“Portrait of Alex Salmond” by Scottish Government is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
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