ANTI SCOTTISH DIATRIBE BY 'THE TIMES' NEWSPAPER

Rather a nasty little column, I think the only 'fit of pique' here is that the Times don't like the idea of anyone at all standing up for Scottish interests. JOE

Peak of Pique

Is there no perceived slight too small to test Alex Salmond’s temper? Alex Salmond is growing into a parody of the gruff, chippy, fight-picking “Hey Jimmeh!” Scotsman from central casting.

Scotland’s First Minister roams the world like a Saturday-night drunk looking for excuses to bruise his knuckles.

For his latest brawl he has accused Tony Blair of ignoring the Scottish Government and its legal system by signing an agreement with Muammar Gaddafi over prisoner transfers from Britain to Libya – an agreement, hissed Mr Salmond, which could lead to the Lockerbie bomber, Abdul Baset Ali al-Megrahi, being switched from Scotland to his homeland.

It marks the latest of myriad whinges from a man famous for having a temper shorter than a Paris Hilton jail stay. Mr Salmond can be relied upon to find three new things to beef about before breakfast.

He has whined about Scotland not having its own Olympic team, has demanded a separate Scottish version of the BBC TV Six O’Clock News, bleated about getting Trident out of Scotland, criticised Tony Blair for sending troops into Kosovo, demanded a fat Scottish share of North Sea oil revenues, and queried why Scottish ministers cannot lead the British delegation at EU meetings.

If there is an opportunity to moan self-pityingly about how cruelly Scotland is oppressed by its southern neighbour, then Alex Salmond is the man to grab it. No doubt Mr Salmond is already exploring reasons to grow indignant about yesterday’s snubbing of the Munro Society by surveyors who declared a Scottish mountain not tall enough to join the Munro list of 3,000ft-high mountains.

Would that mark the peak of Mr Salmond’s pique? Unlikely. Mike Tyson may soon be the only opponent left who is worthy of Mr Salmond’s sparring skills. Now that is a bout we’d all pay to watch.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/leading_article/article1906974.ece