In his speech Mr Salmond wasn't above quoting back at her remarks the Queen had made in a recent speech at Dublin Castle in the Republic of Ireland or, as Nat One would have it, "another nation of these islands". On that occasion the Queen talked of how Britain and Ireland shared values, as well as economic, business and cultural links.
This led Mr Salmond, never one to miss a trick, or a cheap shot, to try to equate what she had said about an independent Ireland with a Scotland that is still part of the United Kingdom by repeating her words that "together we have much to celebrate".
He then proceeded to give a lecture on the pure milk of nationalist policy, talking of the shared values of the peoples of Scotland, England, Wales and Ireland but pointing out that each was "distinctive and unique," adding that some (ie his supporters) "believe the best way to articulate that uniqueness … lies within ourselves and should be fully expressed within the work of the parliament."
As I said earlier, you didn't really need an Enigma machine to decode his message but just in case you were still unclear, it went like this: "Vote SNP. And I shall use my massive majority in Holyrood to engineer the break up of Britain."
In her address the Queen steered clear of all controversial comment, especially concerning any future role Mr Salmond may have for her and if she has, as has been rumoured, expressed concern about the constitutional future of the United Kingdom, then she made no mention of it yesterday.
Instead she further endeared herself to our assembled tribunes when she praised the vitality of their democracy, saying: "No one would ever argue that Scottish politics is the business of the meek, the passive or the faint-hearted." That went down very well as all politicians like to hear that they're ferocious debaters.
Tricia Marwick, the new presiding officer, coped well with her onerous responsibilities in supervising the entire event, the highlights of which – other than the Queen and Duke, of course – were our new Makar, Liz Lochhead's poetry rendition and the singing of Burns's "Now Westlin Winds". Mind you, I wonder what the Royal couple made of the distinctly anti-blood sports message of that song.
The only thing that spoiled an otherwise colourful day, what with the Royal Company of Archers and the Heralds, is the dreadful architecture and ultra-modern finish of the parliament itself.
However, perhaps the only thing that marred things for Mr Salmond was his significant failure to win the Inverclyde by-election, especially after he'd decided to supersede the actual SNP candidate and visit the constituency no fewer than seven times. Labour will be mightily pleased with their, in the end, easy victory.
Article Source KBG Test Blog (http://rc.kbg.me)
