FORGET the collective amnesia, the main show is about to start. Performances

so far have been abysmal, and evasive answers have proven to be an irrelevant sideline;

now it’s the real deal. Two protagonists, not quite head to head but as near as dammit, will have their say at the Committee Inquiry on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints, or the Alex Salmond inquiry, depending on your politics.

I would not like to play

chess with the grand master. He is the kind of opponent that would destroy you move by move until the inevitable checkmate. Nicola Sturgeon’s performance, attested to by many during the Covid briefings, is a masterclass in communications. Whatever the outcome of the clash of the Scottish political titans, one thing has been overlooked. In the Holyrood elections in May people will vote SNP but not for the SNP; there is a distinction. The SNP is the only party that can deliver independence. As the polls show it is drawing support from people who don’t even like the SNP, they are asking what is the alternative? A ghastly future where Scotland continues to be ruled by Oxbridge chums. These voters of various political persuasions are increasingly accepting the inescapable logic of self-determination regardless of what happens in the committee rooms in Holyrood.

Mike Herd

Highland