WHAT is winning, really? The Jouker’s been pondering this all this week, starting with the first leaders’ debate on Tuesday and ending with recent polling in the Sunday Times.
After all, everyone involved says they’re the winners, and this is Scottish politics so that obviously must be true.
We suppose it depends on what success really means.
For Douglas “no referendum” Ross – so popular he doesn’t even feature on his own party’s election leaflets any more – there’s a good chance that getting told to “grow up” by Anas Sarwar during the debate is the definition of a good night. After all, going by his recent Facebook Live events, it’s about the mildest thing anyone’s said to him before a live audience in a while.
Sarwar snapped at Ross for his inability to talk about anything other than indyref2, that very thing he says Nicola Sturgeon’s not allowed to talk about.
There have been plenty of calls for Sturgeon to talk about other things – if she had a pound for every time she’d been asked about Alex Salmond this week she’d already have the foundation for a new National Bank of a sovereign Scotland.
There have been yet further attempts to knock Sturgeon’s credibility through complaints to the police about SNP finances – made by veteran complainer Sean Clerkin, who once went to a Glasgow police station to have David Cameron arrested for war crimes.
All the polls say Yes parties are out on top – no surprise there.
Elections superstar John Curtice suggests Alba could get six seats, which would be some feat for a fledging party led by a man whose own personal popularity ratings are so far less than favourable – and who was kept out of the BBC leaders’ debate circle, despite having two MPs.
Curtice says the six seats would make for a pro-independence majority of 79 once the Greens’ projected eight and SNP’s 65 are added. This would be a major – some might say, super – result for indy supporters, but is it a supermajority? Who knows?!
Defining that is still as hard as remembering anything Willie Rennie said in the debate. Was he there at all? He and his party have been playing games all week, from massive chess to massive Connect 4. Rennie looks more toaty in each pic, like a living representation of the poll results – which show shrinking support for the LibDems.
Another man who likes – adores – a good picture of himself is of course George Galloway. His All for Unity could snatch a massive one seat on May 6, polling suggests. So, not the referendum-busting result they’re telling voters they can get but at least it’ll keep George in the limelight for five years, TV debate or not.
That’s a win for all of us, right?
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