There is never a good week to get arrested (and released without charge, don’t forget that last bit), but fate has dealt Nicola Sturgeon a particularly rum hand these past few days.
The former First Minister declared herself shocked and deeply distressed by last Sunday’s turn of events. Alas, she was not the only political leader to be having a ‘mare of a time, as Socrates never said. There was so much unhappiness going around it was a case of take a number and the media will get to you when we can.
Donald Trump was upset about facing more charges and another day in court. Boris Johnson wasn’t happy about a Commons committee deciding he had lied to MPs over Partygate. Nor was he chuffed to see his honours list shredded. Nadine Dorries, whose elevation to the peerage was one casualty of the shred, was beyond consoling (“I’m broken-hearted,” she told Piers Morgan). Meanwhile, Humza Yousaf was feeling bad on his predecessor’s behalf, saying he had found her arrest “personally quite painful”. To cap it all, Silvio Berlusconi died. Now that’s something to complain about.
As is customary when events take place around the same time, everything was lumped together in one giant news tornado. Like Dorothy swept up in the twister, we could only marvel as a house flew by one minute, followed by Nicola Sturgeon, a tree, Boris Johnson, a picket fence, a cow, two men in a boat, Nadine Dorries, and Neil “Nicola Sturgeon is a national disgrace” Oliver. That’s some company to find yourself in, Nicola. See what I mean about a bad week?
For more on Scottish politics subscribe now
Commentators were quick to suspect something was afoot, something that had to be labelled. It’s the end of an era, one newspaper trumpeted, bracketing the fortunes of Ms Sturgeon and Mr Johnson together. Goodbye and good riddance to populism, said another, throwing Jeremy Corbyn into the mix. One writer detected a new mood of seriousness in the air.
Politicians were quick to join in. The world has moved on, said energy secretary Grant Shapps. People have had their fill of Johnson and his drama. Enough with Westminster’s “third-rate political soap opera” said Mr Yousaf.
What do you think? Yes, you in the not-so-cheap seats. Is this a watershed moment in politics? Is it the end of an era, the start, the middle? Or have we all had too much of the sun and need a lie-down in a darkened room?
Now, as a long-time member of the commentariat, aka the Gob on a Stick Brigade, I am the last person to turn my nose up at a phenomenon, however contrived - sorry, “carefully observed” - it might be. Never mind Pirandello’s Six Characters in Search of an Author, six columnists desperate for a theme will do for me.
Propriety calls for evidence, however, and I’m not certain there is that much weighing on the “end of an era” side. Take, for a start, the people advancing the argument. Columnists aside, politicians have the most to gain from the idea that the current crop of scandals is unique to the age, and what blew in the door with Johnson, Trump et al will blow out with them. That way the ones still standing, your Shapps and Sunaks, Yousafs and Macrons, can put some distance between themselves and failure. This is vital if the show is to stay on the road, essentially unchanged.
READ MORE Humza Yousaf urged to clarify party rules on suspension
But history is awash with political scandal, much of it far worse than anything you will see today. It has worn wigs and breeches, top hats and flat caps, Savile Row and M&S. The fashions may change; folly, temptation, and ignorance will always be with us.
When trouble comes along the system kicks in, as it is designed to do, to get things back on track. Or so said William Hague, former leader of the Conservatives, in The Times on Tuesday in response to Boris Johnson’s claim of a witch-hunt. “The powerful are investigated for alleged misdeeds, courts are fearless, parliamentary committees try to do their work, political parties — at least in Britain — try to cleanse themselves of leaders whose standards are not high enough,” wrote Mr Hague in lines crying out for a blast of Elgar.
Others believe politics will only be reset by having elections, the sooner the better. But how much difference that will make is not certain. In the UK are we talking seismic change as in 1945? A period of major reform as in 1997? Or another era of make do and muddle through until a working majority comes along? And what would change look like in Scotland?
The ever-helpful Neil Oliver has suggested that Scotland be seen as a test bed for what could happen in England. It’s not looking good, says Mr O (shockerooni, eh?). Politics has become a soap opera devoid of meaning in the “real world”, said the GBNews presenter. “If you are looking for solutions to Britain’s problems in the political realm you might as well be looking under the bed.”
Where else we might look, and what we would find there, was not set out. Maybe it will be a lovely surprise, but if it involves Mr Oliver I’ll leave it, thanks.
READ MORE Record drop in employment
We are witnessing the end of an era, but not as we usually understand it. Recent events are just the latest stops on a line of continuing change, much of it happening at a global rather than national level. The ascent of China; Brexit; the march of AI - this is the stuff on which history turns, not some privileged oaf storming out of parliament.
Change is possible closer to home, but only if we learn the right lessons from the past decade or so. How inadvisable it is to pin all your hopes on one person, for example. That there are no simple solutions to complex problems is another.
A new generation of politicians would be welcome too. Ones that build things and don’t just tear down the work of others. People who know what it’s like to do without, to bring up a family on not very much. Someone who will say, you can have what you want but it is going to cost - a lot. Imagine that. I’d be quite happy with someone who once held a real job.
That kind of change takes time and effort. How much easier is is to blame a few individuals, or some amorphous era, for what ails us. Easier but wrong.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel