I always thought that Alex Salmond was a slippery devil and a serious political operator, but compared to the malevolent force of nature that is embodied in Sturgeon he is a pussycat. At least he would slip in the stiletto with a smile. The really scary thing about her is that she is devoid of humour, utterly ruthless and quivers with hatred of Cameron and the Tories. Real hatred. Not just served up for the viewing public, but deep, genuine and poisonous. I have never seen this in a serious British politician before and I hope to never see it again. But I will. Cameron doesn’t have to scare the English electorate with the fear of the SNP, she does it very well herself. It was as if Lady Macbeth was publicly goading her husband to murder king Duncan. She didn’t quite say to Miliband ‘screw your courage to the sticking place’ but she handed him the dagger and offered him the crown if he did the bloody deed. I could almost hear the three witches chanting, ‘fair is foul and foul is fair’. It could almost be the SNP campaign slogan.
And that is the problem, her hatred and intolerance of all things English and particularly Tory, mirrors her core supporters. Look at the way the mob with mottled faces disfigured with anger, jostled and jeered the rather mild mannered and decent Jim Murphy. Remember when Nick Robinson, as fair a reporter as you can get, was vilified for just doing his job. Anyone who dares express an alternative view is abused. This is not a political campaign, this is a tartan lynch mob. It is not British and certainly not Scottish. There is no tolerance, no compromise, just ruthless determination steeped in poison and bile. If they win the war, Sturgeon and her goons would gleefully bayonet the wounded.
For the first time in my political life I am genuinely scared of what might happen at an election. I felt rather sorry for Miliband last night. He was like a rabbit mesmerised by the headlights of a truck before he become SNP political roadkill. If she gets what she wants he too will be knifed, discarded and humiliated. If he was a true leader he would bury her. He won’t and can’t so long as there is a glimmer of hope that he might enter Downing Street by the back door. This should horrify anybody who believes in democracy. Miliband is her prisoner and he hasn’t the courage to at least try and escape. He is naive enough to think that he can cage her after being given the keys to Number 10. The poor fool. I hope and pray that people of goodwill both sides of the border will recoil in horror at the monster that has been spawned. God help anyone to has an alternative view to the SNP. And north of the border there will be some ugly scenes as the election gets nearer. I predict smashed windows, snarling, spitting mobs and intimidation at the polling stations.
