Cameron didn't quite go that far in his
speech urging Sots to "remain in the union", but his rhetoric was certainly
headed in that direction. I don't know whether he and his advisors will
conclude that his line is being successful or not, but it just left me with the
impression that he still doesn't get it.
I don't doubt the sincerity of his wish to
"preserve the union"; what I doubt is his ability to make the case convincingly
to anyone who starts from a different perspective to his
own.
Gareth Hughes has already done something of
a demolition job on the line of argument advanced by Cameron. The extent to
which it's based on being bigger than the other kids on the street, and
possessing bigger sticks, came as a surprise even to me. It's very much a
reflection of the days of Empire – and of an inability to let go of that
viewpoint.
For those who still yearn for days gone by,
it's a message which will probably press a lot of the right buttons. But for
those who don't, it will just sound irrelevant. And that's what I mean about
not getting it. Telling Scotland that the main reason for not becoming independent is that there are a lot of kids out there who are bigger than them, and wielding bigger sticks to boot, is talking past them, not to them.
By background and nature, Cameron is stuck
in a view of the UK's rôle in the world which has long since been overtaken by
events. It is Salmond and the SNP who are understanding that the future lies
not in who can wield the biggest stick (a contest which the UK is doomed to lose
in any event), but in how nations and states can combine greater localism with
stronger co-operation. That is a dialogue which Cameron and his ilk cannot, in
the long term, win.
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