By G.A.Ponsonby
Did you know that the word Barroso means muddy in Spanish?
Pretty apt name for the man who stepped up to Scotland’s constitutional debate, pulled on a pair of wellies, and jumped into the referendum pond.
By G.A.Ponsonby
Did you know that the word Barroso means muddy in Spanish?
Pretty apt name for the man who stepped up to Scotland’s constitutional debate, pulled on a pair of wellies, and jumped into the referendum pond.
The EC President created ripples that distorted the surface of Scotland’s debate as the scum that had sat dormant was suddenly agitated.
According to Mr Muddy, ‘Not Scotland’ will be thrown out of the European Union if ‘not Scots’ vote for independence. ‘Not Scots’, according to Mr Barroso’s spokesman who confirmed it with Newsnet Scotland, will also lose their EU citizenship.
‘Not the rUK’ will remain in, apparently unaffected as they negotiate the changes to their own ‘non-terms’. ‘Not UK MEPs’ will ‘not’ have their total numbers up for negotiation in the event of ‘Not Scots’ voting for independence.
Yep, it’s as clear as Barroso. The current EC President is a politician and like most politicians he has his own agenda. Looking forward to a third term in 2014, just before the Scottish independence referendum, Jose will have done his prospects of support from London and Madrid no harm at all.
Getting clarity out of his office after his ‘general’ remarks ‘not about Scotland’ is like getting blood out of a stone, unless you happen to be a group of publicly funded unelected peers or a reporter for the BBC.
Quite why the BBC hasn’t pursued Barroso in order to clarify the ‘uncertainty’ is puzzling. Just as puzzling is Westminster’s refusal to seek clarity – actually that isn’t puzzling at all.
In a neat trick, the EC has let it be known that it will not discuss Scotland unless asked to by London.
So, the uncertainty caused by Barroso at the behest of unelected peers will not be addressed by Westminster who attack the SNP over … the uncertainty.
Predictably, and yes, legitimately, the Unionists have been reaping a bumper harvest out of Barroso’s muddy manure. Some, perhaps realising that their claims of expulsion are a bit too extreme, have been trying to alter course and are now admitting that Scotland won’t be thrown out after all.
Scottish Lib Dem leader Willie Rennie is now denying that anyone had claimed an independent Scotland would be out on her separatist ear. Perhaps Mr Rennie hasn’t been reading The Scotsman newspaper which has been screaming this scenario since last Thursday – a wee bit too early it now transpires.
The Scotsman Deputy Editor Peter MacMahon – stung by his paper’s blunder when it claimed to have read a letter not yet fully drafted and which it also, wrongly, claimed had been sent – tried to re-write history by claiming his paper’s initial story was now backed by Mr Barroso.
He was joined by the Daily Record’s Torcuil Chrichton who tweeted “Barroso backs last week’s Scotsman story line by line.”
Both men seemed oblivious to the fact that it was Barroso’s own office who initially described the Scotsman’s article as “incorrect”.
Notwithstanding the letter fiasco, The Scotsman’s original claims that Barroso would indicate an independent Scotland would lose its EU membership did come to pass and the No campaign has had a media field day.
Alistair Darling turned up on the BBC fulminating as only he can. It was the usual apocalyptic stuff from the Labour MP who appears to have given up completely on positivity and vision for Scotland.
The BBC presenter called it a ‘debate’ which it palpably wasn’t as Darling was allowed to rant uninterrupted whilst Yes Scotland head Blair Jenkins politely suggested the studio host ask his Better Together opponent a question.
What the undecided will make of it all is anyone’s guess, but my own view is that those in the anti-independence camp have overplayed their hand and that many Scots will have been put off by the glee that they have been displaying over Barroso’s dissing of Scotland.
I’m off for a mud-free break – have a Merry Christmas all and don’t forget Newsnet Scotland’s donate button.
