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'At the age of 52, I cannot be the boy wonder any longer'

Election Focus: There has often been a mordant glee about Salmond, and these days it�s more visible than ever. But then in his 20 years at Westminster, the Mother of Parliaments has always had him down as the sour sound-bite outsider.

In one of the long, anonymous corridors of Portcullis House, Alex Salmond's researcher is trying to unlock the door to his Westminster office. "The electronic lock isn't reading the electronic key," she says wearily.