The claim that the SNP "will resign if their budget is not passed is not a clever tactic. It tells us three things; that unlike last year, they do not yet have the Tory vote, that independent Margo Macdonald, quite rightly, is hanging out for all she can for Edinburgh and that, as ever, their focus is not on the needs of the Country in a crisis but their own political futures. Is this game of political chicken what Alex Salmond really meant when he call us all to "pull together" in his new Year message; that's pull together as in "do what I want or I'll stomp off in the huff!
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Thursday, 8 January 2009
The politics of go'an in the huff
The claim that the SNP "will resign if their budget is not passed is not a clever tactic. It tells us three things; that unlike last year, they do not yet have the Tory vote, that independent Margo Macdonald, quite rightly, is hanging out for all she can for Edinburgh and that, as ever, their focus is not on the needs of the Country in a crisis but their own political futures. Is this game of political chicken what Alex Salmond really meant when he call us all to "pull together" in his new Year message; that's pull together as in "do what I want or I'll stomp off in the huff!
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Hi Ewan,
The BBC article you link to has no mention of the SNP resigning if their budget is not passed, it's just media hearsay at the moment. As far as I see the SNP are maturely going about seeking a deal with the Tories and Greens, and seem very close with weeks to go.
I would be very surprised if Alex made the same threat this year about resigning, perhaps that's why you've resorted to making up the news in order to try and land a few blows? What happened to finding nice things to say about your political rivals? ;-)
This is, word for word, what Mr Swinney told Radio Clyde on Thursday: "If the government was unable to get its budget through, we would have to leave office and there would have to be either a new administration formed or an election called.
"And I don't think anyone wants that in the midst of an economic downturn.
"Politically the government has to get its budget through because without getting a budget through the government can not function, we can not support public services, we can not implement a policy programme.
"So quite clearly if the government was unable to get its budget through, we would have to leave office."
Is that clear enough for Jeff?
Some-one beat me to the details Jeff as I was away from my computer and couldn't check the source as I wanted to before posting. I think it would be fair to say that what John Swinney said was in different tone to what the First Minister said but the same effect occurs, but then that is perhaps what I mean by the difficulties of language. My post was to challenge but it could be seen as an attack.. it was based on what I knew to be true about what John Swinney said but what we all hear is not the same thing even if it is the same words.
Well, fair enough, I'm sure the quote is accurate.
I don't think Swinney's words could be paraphrased as "the politics of go'an in the huff" though and I don't think it has been delievered in the same grandstanding tone as Alex's last year. Swinney is simply stating what the rammifications of a defeated budget bill would be to ensure opposition politicians don't act too childishly around them. Seemingly the message hasn't yet got through if your take on it Ewan is that the SNP are stomping off in a huff if, after rounds of negotiations, their budget is defeated.
I'd honestly like to see a joint SNP/ Labour budget and I don't see Andy Kerr making much effort to win some concessions. Though of course i don't know how open Swinney's door is to the Labour team.
But I do think Labour will struggle to get good headlines if the budget pans out as necessarily dull but mature negotiations over a budget and that's why there's been this pulling of the debate down into supposed childish tantrums in some quarters.
Jeff, thanks for this. You are right, the best result would be a joint budget but given the way we all do politics that is, as yet, unlikely. Mind you, no headlines might be better then the ones we created last year...
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