The opening of the Trump International course last week occasioned some self-applauding commentary about how Scots were united in their moral disgust for the American's golf resort project.
With due respect to the national superiority implicit in these articles, the assertion is as nonsensical as the suggestion that Sepa and local planners would permit the "bulldozing" of the famous dunes.
The projects in Aberdeenshire whose opponents attract acres of media coverage – Trump and the Aberdeen Western Periphery Route – have strong support from locals. In Trump's case, as Aberdeen Chamber of Commerce chief executive Robert Collier explains, improving the golf tourism offering helps secure Aberdeen's post-oil future. Even in low-unemployment Aberdeen, Collier says, every Trump job has eight to 10 applicants.
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