It’s not an existential question.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
It’s a straightforward political query.
asserted
It → ’ → ?
Why did he step up during Humzageddon to take the reins of a crisis-wracked SNP?
asserted
he → step → SNP
Because, two years on, I’m still struggling to pinpoint the purpose of his government.
asserted
I → struggle → government
At his fingertips are an array of powers that, should he choose, he could deploy to transform the face of Scottish society, be that in education, health, welfare, justice or transport.
uncertain
he → choose → education
Instead, he is tinkering with administrative structures, eliminating health boards here and merging councils there.
asserted
he → tinker → councils
But nothing sums up the hollowness of Swinney’s leadership quite like his evasiveness on Rosebank.
asserted
nothing → sum → Rosebank
The oil field, which lies off the coast of Shetland, presents an opportunity to keep workers in their jobs for longer, rather than chucking them on the scrap heap in the name of Net Zero.
asserted
which → lie → Zero
The SNP used to be for oil and gas jobs.
asserted
SNP → use → jobs
It used to be for Scotland exploiting its energy bounties, fossil fuels and renewables alike.
asserted
It → use → bounties
The SNP used to be for a lot of things.
asserted
SNP → use → things
Asked his position on Rosebank at last week’s First Minister’s Questions, Swinney said: ‘The process of consideration of the Rosebank application has to be applied by the quasi-judicial process that the Prime Minister talked about, where the implications of the consenting of that development have to be compared with the importation of oil and gas.
asserted
implications → ask → oil
Swinney has the emotional range of a Dalek at the best of times, but this answer was bloodless and achingly technical even for him.
asserted
answer → have → him
Depending on your perspective, this is about the economic welfare of an industry and its employees or the ecological welfare of the climate.
asserted
this → depend → climate
In whichever direction he leans, a First Minister should try to sound less like an automated bus timetable and more like he cares about the issues and people involved.
asserted
he → lean → issues
Correct me if I’m wrong, but Swinney is supposed to be the leader of the Scottish National Party.
asserted
Swinney → correct → Party
Since when did SNP leaders start deferring to the judgment of the UK Prime Minister when Scottish livelihoods are at stake?
asserted
livelihoods → start → stake
If you can’t bring yourself to take a position on Scottish jobs, perhaps Scottish First Minister isn’t the job for you.
asserted
Minister → bring → you
John Swinney must stay on friendly terms with the Greens to keep his government going and survive confidence votes
And before any of Swinney’s apologists protest that this is a reserved matter and he is bound by the law, foreign affairs is a reserved matter and that hasn’t stopped the First Minister voicing his views on Ukraine, the Iran War and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
asserted
Minister → stay → Ukraine
The devolution settlement limits what Swinney can do, but nothing restricts what he can say.
asserted
he → limit → what
So why can’t he be straight with the Scottish public and tell them where he stands on Rosebank?
Because the intended audience for Swinney’s empty pieties is not the voters but the Greens.
asserted
audience → tell → pieties
The First Minister’s government does not command a majority of seats at Holyrood.
asserted
government → command → Holyrood
To keep his government going, get its legislation passed and survive confidence votes, Swinney needs to remain on friendly terms with the Greens.
asserted
Swinney → keep → Greens
Neither Ross Greer nor Gillian Mackay is a minister in this government but both have more influence over policy than any Cabinet Secretary.
asserted
both → have → Secretary
They made their displeasure known when the First Minister welcomed Westminster’s approval for drilling in the Jackdaw gas field.
asserted
Minister → make → field
That was a warning shot, and Swinney heard it loud and clear.
asserted
Swinney → hear → it
So instead of manning up and letting us know what he makes of Rosebank, he will continue to shy away from expressing a definitive opinion lest he stir the ire of the Greens.
asserted
he → man → Greens
The most powerful man in devolved government frozen in fear of the Temu Patrick Harvie and Grangemouth’s answer to Greta Thunberg.
asserted
man → freeze → Thunberg
The blame doesn’t lie entirely with Swinney.
asserted
blame → lie → Swinney
It was his old pal Nicola Sturgeon who first brought the Greens into government and gave them influence far beyond their parliamentary strength.
asserted
who → bring → strength
She legitimised a party that should have been left on the fringes where it belongs.
asserted
it → legitimise → fringes
Her decision was typically short-termist: in shoring up her own government, she made it difficult for her successors to forgo Green support.
asserted
successors → shore → support
The price for that support is too high, much higher than any self-respecting Nationalist leader should be prepared to countenance.
asserted
leader → respect → support
Under Swinney, his party’s most famous slogan has become: ‘It’s Scotland’s oil, but Ross Greer’s call.’
I am a critic of the SNP.
asserted
I → become → SNP
I consider it to be inept at governing, fixated on headlines, and unable to produce results.
asserted
it → consider → results
I disagree with what is, or at least what used to be, its primary policy: independence.
asserted
what → disagree → independence
But I respect principled Nationalists who see things differently, and I reckon it’s in the best interests of political debate for their party to be led by someone similarly principled, someone who isn’t afraid to speak his mind.
asserted
who → respect → mind
The interests of the SNP, however, pale in comparison to the needs of the country.
asserted
interests → pale → country
Scotland needs a government that is explicitly and enthusiastically pro-business and pro-growth.
asserted
that → need → government
In the North East, that means being pro-drilling.
asserted
that → mean → East
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
