You might have noticed a big media circus today, scattered across the radio, internet and the rolling news channels. It'll be all over the front pages tomorrow, too. The whole country gathered around and waited with bated breath while First Minister Alex Salmond announced...well, not very much, really.
It was billed as being an answer to the many questions which have been flying back and forth from Holyrood to Westminster in recent weeks about Scottish independence and the referendum on the issue. Today, finally, it seemed like we were going to get some firm details, some facts, of what an independent Scotland might be like. Something for the voting public to cling to and use to make their decision.
And what did we get? A consultation document, and the promise of a white paper in November 2013. Maybe. If the bill passes by then.
Desperate for some kind of headline, the news outlets mostly seized on the mooted referendum question, although taking a closer look at the small print in the consultation document itself, all we actually have is a proposed possible question, a hypothetical one to raise the interest of the public. Will there be a devolution-max option? Well...maybe. They're going to talk about it and tell us later. Will 16 and 17 year olds be allowed to vote? Umm...dunno, really. Maybe? They're going to talk about it and tell us later.
Essentially, Alex Salmond announced absolutely nothing today. He waffled a decent amount of rhetoric, and waved some bits of paper around, and all of the papers and websites that had reserved the front page for his historic announcement slowly realised that they had tied their own hands - they had to put Alex on the front page now, waving his bits of paper and announcing not very much, because they'd gone and made too much of a fuss about it now.
Once again, it underlines why the SNP are winning in Scottish politics right now. As it stands, nobody really has anything to say. Not much is going on. But only the SNP are making such a fuss about not really having anything to say. Only the SNP are calling media conferences and sending out endless press releases about not much going on. They're rehashing old policies desperately, spinning old rhetoric around in ever-decreasing circles - but at least they're making some noise. That's going to get them at least some attention, and as long as the other parties stick to sitting mutely by and only saying things when they have something to say, Mr Salmond will continue to dominate the front pages. That's why everyone knows what he's up to, while most people still aren't sure if that Johann person in charge of Labour is a dude or not.
