The Republic of Scotland: naive dream or justified claim?
The Republic of Scotland: naive dream or justified claim?
The ‘Land of Wiskys’s’ independence movement is delighted to see the headlines of today’s newspapers. Though there have been arguments and even riots about independence since the unification of the English and Scottish Crown back in 1603, the recent development of David Cameron’s approval of a referendum planned for 2014 finally provides the opportunity for the Scottish to achieve separation from the UK. The issue is currently divided into two parties: on the one hand there are the Republicans who sympathise with Alex Salmond (current Scottish PM, in favour of independence) and on the other hand there are the members of the Scottish Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats Party who oppose the proposed referendum. In the following it’s essential to contrast the views of both parties in order to understand the importance of the issue.
The Scottish economy (including oil resources in the North Sea) can be considered as the key argument of the separatists. In their opinion an independent Scotland based on a strong economy is on the verge of facing a bright future. Furthermore the SNP (Alex Salmond’s Party, which surprisingly won elections of Scottish parliament in 2011) calls on the Scottish to claim the born right of their own state that recognises the needs and values north of Edinburgh. Not only self-determination but also issues such as military and political ones (nuclear weapons stationed in Scotland and membership in the EU and NATO) would be under consideration.
However, surveys show a standoff in Scottish society. And this leads to the opposite side.
Recent announcements of senior politicians in the EU are leading to an uncertainty of being part of the EU immediately after breaking from the UK (process of new application takes years). The Scottish opposition and the British Government are rather interested in avoiding this scenario. Apart from this Scotland would be losing (financial)
The ‘Land of Wiskys’s’ independence movement is delighted to see the headlines of today’s newspapers. Though there have been arguments and even riots about independence since the unification of the English and Scottish Crown back in 1603, the recent development of David Cameron’s approval of a referendum planned for 2014 finally provides the opportunity for the Scottish to achieve separation from the UK. The issue is currently divided into two parties: on the one hand there are the Republicans who sympathise with Alex Salmond (current Scottish PM, in favour of independence) and on the other hand there are the members of the Scottish Labour, Conservative and Liberal Democrats Party who oppose the proposed referendum. In the following it’s essential to contrast the views of both parties in order to understand the importance of the issue.
The Scottish economy (including oil resources in the North Sea) can be considered as the key argument of the separatists. In their opinion an independent Scotland based on a strong economy is on the verge of facing a bright future. Furthermore the SNP (Alex Salmond’s Party, which surprisingly won elections of Scottish parliament in 2011) calls on the Scottish to claim the born right of their own state that recognises the needs and values north of Edinburgh. Not only self-determination but also issues such as military and political ones (nuclear weapons stationed in Scotland and membership in the EU and NATO) would be under consideration.
However, surveys show a standoff in Scottish society. And this leads to the opposite side.
Recent announcements of senior politicians in the EU are leading to an uncertainty of being part of the EU immediately after breaking from the UK (process of new application takes years). The Scottish opposition and the British Government are rather interested in avoiding this scenario. Apart from this Scotland would be losing (financial)