Salmond left out in the cold

I've been reading with interest the plans that Gordon Brown and Nicolas Sarkozy have regarding nuclear power. Britain, or the UK less Scotland at least, will use French knowledge to assist them in building the next generation of nuclear power stations. The French of course will get good business (and some lovely Euros) out of this deal.

This approach by Gordon Brown is in stark contrast to the SNP's position on nuclear energy, a position focussing on renewables based largely on the current opinions of the Scottish people. The SNP's energy policy is bundled up with the populist agenda they are seeking to build.

I am all for a government seeking a populist agenda by the way, it's pretty much what they are there to do. But, there are always exceptions, and in this particular area I fear the the smog-heavy winds of change are going to blow back heavily in Salmond's face.

For one, there are some opinions that are fixed and would take a lot to shift. I believe Scotland's displeasure at the Iraq War is one that was never looking likely to change. Scotland is also more open to ideas of a larger welfare state with free student tuition and free care for the elderly being too such examples.

But I suspect the country's current support for renewable energy over nuclear energy is soft. Once the leaders of the world are seen to embrace nuclear, once Scottish electricity bills shoot up while England's creep down, once planning problems really get going with regard to renewables, well, I think then nuclear energy will suddenly appear more attractive to people of this country.

Alex Salmond is much like the French radical watching the crowd run by and saying, "There go my people. I must find out where they're going so I can lead them."

He's backed the right horses with bridge tolls, tuition fees and opposition to the War in bolstering this populist agenda but, with opposing nuclear energy, I fear he's not leading the people but joining an uninformed and naive lot in facing off to nuclear so fiercely.

And a public backlash going off in Alex's face on something as important as energy policy could be very painful indeed.