One of the top stories today is not the best reading for Team SNP. The news that Alex Salmond has apparently 'snubbed' the Diageo Chief Executive Paul Walsh, opting to appear on the Daily Politics show rather than meet to discuss those potential 900 job losses has been red meat for the Scottish press out there.
Salmond 'snubs' Diageo chief to go on TV show - says The Scotsman on its main page, compounding the regrettable headlines with a premium article on 'Salmond's skewed priorities'. The Times have jumped onboard too.
For me, I have no doubt that the media-savvy SNP advisers will have considered most of this before Salmond's appearance. The appeal of Nick Robinson and Andrew Neil is not that magnetic, surely.
Indeed it is clear that there was at most 45 minutes between Salmond learning of the possible meeting and his going on air in London. A timeframe for Salmond to drastically change his plans that would be just as unlikely to materialise as Iraq releasing those non-existent WMDs.
So it is little wonder that a decent compromise was found in Angus Robertson meeting Paul Walsh instead of the First Minister, safe in the knowledge that a more official meeting between Diageo's Chief Exec and the First Minister is already scheduled for later this month. And the fact that Salmond asked a Parliamenatry Question on the matter yesterday, of course, does not appear in any article.
Does Angus have a bit less clout than the First Minister? Will all of this send an indirect message to Diageo that the SNP are not 100% serious about this issue? Perhaps, but I reckon there is only a little fault that can be laid at the door of Alex Salmond and his SPADs. Where they might have passed the test of doing more or less the right thing they may not have been quite up to scratch with appreciating how this could have been portrayed in the media.
Mind you, which is the more important prize in the febrile atmosphere of politics is another question entirely.
With the main charge (and perhaps the most effective one) against Alex Salmond being that he is perhaps too self-involved and too smug and the most dangerous place to be is between the First Minister and a tv camera, there is real danger that however mischievous this story may be, it may well stick in the voters minds for some time yet.
5 comments:
Oh for Heaven's sake
Two busy people fail to coordinate diaries at 45 minutes notice shock.
Labour and its minnions are pathetic
I think this whole episode is depressing really.
The right thing to do here was to form an all-Scotland political alliance to fight for these 900 jobs. However, events clearly show that the Labour party has broken rank and is playing politics with people's livelihoods to try and discredit the SNP. We saw it (shamefully) from Des Browne almost as soon as the news broke and now Labour have invented a "snub" where clearly one doesn't exist which has been picked up by sympathetic media outlets.
It appears Labour's priority is nat-bashing to save their own political livelihoods in the face of a popular SNP rather than genuinely fighting for peoples jobs.
I just hope the people of Kilmarnock see it for what it is.
...In my opinion the SNP should now angrily condemn Labour for its distasteful politicking whilst clearly reiterating what the Scottish Government is doing to save these jobs. Needless to say the door must remain open to renewed and genuine cross party co-operation.
This was supposed to be a cross party effort. However, let Labour continue with their relentless negative campaigning, and we shall continue to talk about what we can do, not what we cannot.
Right as usual Monty.
I suspect that 45 minutes before a tv show, you're already in the building and heading for, if not already in, make up.
If they want to 'politic', let them. Let's just see if we can save 700 jobs and a town's economy, shall we.
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