Salmond still has a role to play

By Kevin Pringle, Special Advisor to First Minister Alex Salmond, 2007-12.

As a young SNP researcher in 1989, one of my first jobs was to write a position paper for party members. Its purpose was to explain a controversial decision not to participate in the work of the pro-devolution Constitutional Convention. Alex Salmond was the SNP’s deputy leader at the time.

I proudly showed him the paper which criticised the Convention and all its works, thinking it was the last word in wisdom.

His response? “Fine, but there’s nothing positive in it.”

And that was my lesson and early insight into the mark of the man. He entered public life because he has a positive vision for the future of Scotland. And his instinct in every situation is to work with others in the best interests of Scotland who may not share that vision.

Very often, such people would end up being persuaded by Alex, and would themselves become evangelists for an independent Scotland. He is committed to reaching out and building a broad-based politics and approach to government that reflects the country in all its diversity. That has contributed to Scotland standing together in tough times, such as the Glasgow Airport attack in 2007, when Muslims and non-Muslims alike were part of “One Scotland”.

While the grassroots nature of the recent Yes campaign was above and beyond party politics, nonetheless it reflected an inclusive approach to pursuing political change that has been the hallmark of Alex Salmond’s two decades of leadership.

Alex’s legacy is long, and he still has a big role to play in Scottish politics in the future. He is, rightly, particularly proud of restoring free higher education in Scotland, which makes life-changing opportunities possible for young Scots for generations to come and helps ensure that Scotland’s universities remain vital centres of excellence on a global basis.

Alex dares to dream that a better, fairer, more prosperous Scotland is possible.

And he spends every day as First Minister working to deliver it. He has inspired hundreds of thousands of his fellow citizens to believe in it and work for it too, culminating in an extraordinary 1.6 million votes for independence last Thursday.

As he said when announcing his resignation, the dream will never die nor, I believe, will Alex’s legacy.