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| News Deal with Greens opens way for Salmond Alex Salmond yesterday struck a deal with the two Green MSPs which will almost certainly result in him becoming the new First Minister. It dealt a fatal blow to Labour leader Jack McConnell's hopes of remaining First Minister, as it makes it impossible for him to secure enough votes to beat the SNP chief next Wednesday, assuming that the Tories and LibDems abstain. And last night Alex Fergusson, the Tory MSP for Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, emerged as the front runner to become Presiding Officer, replacing George Reid, after his party relented and allowed him to stand. The only other candidate so far is Margo MacDonald, veteran nationalist turned Independent, who offered to serve for a year to break the current impasse. As part of the co-operation agreement'' the remaining Green MSPs, Robin Harper from Lothian and Patrick Harvie representing Glasgow, will have the convenership of one of the major committees and a promise of early legislation to set targets limiting carbon emissions. They also agreed to oppose new nuclear power stations and to work towards independence. Greens have won a promise to be consulted on the SNP's legislative programme and its budgets over the next four years but are not bound to support the SNP in any other vote. The agreement still leaves the SNP 19 votes short of a working majority, so it is of limited benefit to either side. No agreement was reached on any stronger alliance beyond next week due to differences over transport projects. The Greens wanted to block the Aberdeen ring road and M74 extension, while retaining Edinburgh's trams, but the SNP insists it wants to keep the road projects and scrap the tram scheme. Labour claimed the deal fell short of SNP hopes and refused to concede Mr Salmond would be elected First Minister. 12:54am Saturday 12th May 2007
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akaali on 9:46am Sat 12 May 07
Along with others on this post, I find the Lib Dems position on a coalition deal with the SNP baffling. I do not wish to see Salmond and his mob in charge of this or any future Scottish Executive, but the Lib Dems are the ultimate political opportunists. I am a Conservative voter and have therefore not adopted this view in bitterness at Labour's defeat!
Throughout the last Administration the Lib Dems were talking up their credentials as part of the Labour led Scottish Executive, claiming all credit and no blame for a whole series of measures. Into the campaign we had Nicol Stephen trumpeting how at Holyrood we were fortunate to have this and that, all due to consensus politics and the Lib Dems. The polls over the last few years have been quite favourable to the Lib Dems, particularly during Charlie K's time and the Dunfermline West by-election, thus fuelling this opportunism. Take a narrow SNP victory on the 3rd May and the Lib Dems reconsider their options. To my astonishment ,Nicol Stephen annouces that he is reconsidering coalition politics because his party took a hammering at the polls, reason being not because he cannot stomach a coalition with the SNP or because they were part of the mess over the past four years, but because the rosy picture the Lib Dems tried to paint during the campaign simply did not wash with a canny electorate. Annabel Goldie suggsted during the campaign that Lib Dems would do anything to keep the Ministeral Mondeos, that is unless of course the electorate has finally gotten wise to Lib Dem lack of principles. If I hear the phrase renewables revolution one more time......! | 
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