The elections to the Scottish parliament will be consumed by a personal rivalry
The return of Alex Salmond to frontline politics is a symbol of decay, not renewal, in Scottish politics. His decision to launch a new political party to contest upcoming elections for the Holyrood parliament will not highlight a new shared idea of an independent country that nationalists could unite behind.
It will instead provide the stage for Mr Salmond’s revenge on his successor as Scottish National party leader, Nicola Sturgeon. For two years Scottish politics has been consumed by this rivalry. The scorched-earth politics of Scottish nationalism has been brutal. The shabby way in which serious matters pertaining to allegations of sexual harassment leading to acquittal in a court case have become part of hyper-partisan politics revealed the depths to which politicians were capable of sinking.
