Kick-off

If the first week of the election campaign is anything to go by, then the next three and a half weeks will be an absolute rollercoaster.

The week started with the leaders of the main political parties participating in a live televised debate. Annabel Goldie gave a confident performance and even joked about the unmentionable poll tax.

Jack McConnell struggled with the occasion whilst Nicol Stephen looked like a rabbit caught in the headlights of an oncoming artic lorry.

It was left to Alex Salmond to rise to the occasion and articulately command the stage.

It has emerged during the week that one command that might come from Tory HQ is that the Scottish Tory Party may be hived off and called something different. However nothing will be decided prior to the election.

One thing definitely decided according to Annabel Goldie is that the Scottish Tories will not form any part of any coalition that may be proposed after May 3rd. Maybe she is fearing a 1997 style wipeout!

Perpetual coalition partners, the Lib Dems, have also been in the news this week. Despite the planet collapsing around us, the Lib Dems have abandoned their green credentials in a dramatic U-turn on their road pricing policy.

Changing policies willy-nilly sniffs a bit of New Labour to me and the most senior members of New Labour were in Scotland this week. Dumb and Dumber were here to support Jack McConnell kick start his election campaign. With friends like these..........?!

A friend of independence is businessman Tom Farmer and he re-iterated Scotland's ability to go it alone in a Newsnight Scotland interview.

With virtually every media outlet supporting the bland, inertia of the current set-up, it is refreshing to see Newsnight Scotland at least trying to keep neutral. Unlike the Herald, who published a poll despite it being a week and a half late and the polling organisation not even being a member of the British Polling Council. The poll showed Labour in the lead despite ten polls already conducted this year showing the SNP leading. However in a bizarre anomaly, the same poll showed that the majority wanted Alex Salmond as First Minister!

Hold on folks, the ride has just begun!!

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