Edinburgh – In ghostly Edinburgh, which remains depopulated by the rains and has just ended the lockdown, “Middle Earth” continues in Scotland. To make matters worse after the result of this latest election, which yesterday evening immediately pulled the ax of the brave heart of pro-independence Prime Minister Nicolas Sturgeon: “Boris Johnson and Westminster must understand: In Scotland there is a clear majority in favor of independence. Try to challenge us in a new referendum for Scotland, they are. They will oppose the people. You will never win against their will. ”
It really is like this? The Scottish Independence Party (SNP) won the local elections, achieving the fourth consecutive state and largest result in the history of the Scottish Parliament born in ’99. But at the same time, even for a complex proportional electoral system, with nearly half of the vote, it did not get the absolute majority of 65 seats that would have given it full powers, but less, 64. setback, also caused by trade unionists and tactical voting, with Johnson’s conservatives In the foreground. However, the cup is half full. Because the Greens, also Independents, scored their best ever use with eight seats, and formed a solid front to break the chains from London.
God Save Scotland / Part 1
By Carlo Bonini (editorial and text format), Enrico Franceschini (London), Antonello Guerrera (Edinburgh). Multimedia Coordination Laura Berchey. Graphics and videos by Gedi Visual
The problem is that Johnson has always opposed the stubborn rejection of any new referendum on independence since his failed referendum in 2014. At least until yesterday. Because the prime minister, the ultimate winner of Thursday’s “election day” and who had seen his victory over other “red” strongholds like Hartlepool, softened his rhetoric and is now more conciliatory: “At the moment the referendum will be irresponsible.” Thus, in a letter obtained as a preview of RepublicToday, Johnson will invite Sturgeon and the Welsh Prime Minister-designate, Labor Mark Drakford, to a “Union Summit” in the UK. We read: “The interests of all countries will be best served if we remain united,” as we read, “We have seen this with the success of the vaccination campaign, and with the huge help to combat Covid. Big challenges await us: so, let’s work together.”
Words that won’t cut sturgeon but show Johnson in a position of strength. Not just for the electoral victory of the past few days. But also because he will always have the final say in the legal referendum for Scotland, as the separatists claim, not “Catalan”. Ultimately, it is very likely that there will be a showdown in the Supreme Court, as Sturgeon will hold a second plebiscite passed by the Scottish Rep in Hollywood, with Johnson appealing to him. “The UK will disintegrate anyway,” the great writer Irvine Welch told us in a pub in Edinburgh, who put Trinspotting. Most skeptical is another heavyweight of domestic literature, the enigmatic writer Ian Rankin: “Now we’re only going to talk about the referendum and not about the things that really matter.”
God Save Scotland / Part Two
By Carlo Bonini (editorial and text format), Enrico Franceschini (London), Antonello Guerrera (Edinburgh). Multimedia Coordination Laura Berchey. Graphics and videos by Gedi Visual
Meanwhile, in London, Labor Mayor Sadiq Khan was re-elected for a second term, bypassing conservative Sean Bailey. The only good news for Labor, in this disastrous election round, came from major cities (including Manchester and Liverpool, where first black mayor Joan Anderson won) and from Wales (Drakford). Chief Starmer began the clean-up process after the defeat: the first victim was Representative Angela Rayner, who was fired. It is only the beginning.
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