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Salmond all for Scottish independence

Alex Salmond, the head of Scotland's government, has spent his political life fighting for independence from London but says he bears no ill-will towards the "auld enemy," the English.

Nine months after his election as first minister, Salmond sits in his elegant official residence in Edinburgh insisting that independence could soothe, not aggravate, the sometimes grumpy relationship between Scotland and England.

England would "lose a surly lodger and gain a good neighbor" if Scots back independence in a referendum in 2010, he says -- all the while stressing his admiration for England.

"The current situation of grievances north and south of the border is aggravated by the constitutional position," he said.

"I believe that England and Scotland would be happier self-governing, totally self-governing, than they are in terms of the relationship," he said.

"I think a relationship of equals is always better than one which is in a broad sense dependent in one way or another," he said.

CAMPAIGN

Salmond has embodied the campaign for independence for nearly two decades, but the round-faced, 53-year-old former Royal Bank of Scotland economist provokes mixed reactions.

He joined the Scottish National Party (SNP), which he has led in a minority government in Edinburgh since last May, as an "act of rebellion" after a row with a girlfriend while at the University of St Andrews in the 1970s.

"She was in the Labour club and I think she said ...`if you feel like that, go and join the SNP then,' so I did, the next morning," he said.

Such feistiness still shows up in voters' perceptions -- some admire Salmond's willingness to stand up for Scotland, others accuse him of smugness, earning him the nickname "Smart Alex."

WORK TO DO

He accepts he must still work to sell the case for independence but says he can win over doubters.

Most polls suggest Scots are in favor of more powers for Scotland, with the odd one going further and indicating majority support for independence.

"I've always believed, and I would be astonished if I were proved wrong, that a success of the SNP and the government will translate to increased confidence in Scotland, increased confidence in the Scottish government and increased confidence in the case for independence," he said.

But Salmond's proposals, which would keep Queen Elizabeth II as Scotland's head of state, have provoked a frosty response in London.

It has been several months since he has spoken to British Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, a fellow Scot and fierce pro-unionist who has warned that the center-left SNP's plans could lead to "the Balkanization of Britain."

BLAIR

Salmond reserves his harshest words for former British prime minister Tony Blair, however.

"I've spent many years trying to look into the soul of Mr Blair -- I never did quite succeed," Salmond said.

He alleges that Blair cut a deal with Libya last year which he said may lead to the transfer of Lockerbie bomber Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al-Megrahi from a Scottish jail to his homeland.

"Mr Blair was negotiating agreements which could be seen to affect a person under Scottish jurisdiction precisely at the moment when there was major decisions and issues being made about that case within the Scottish judicial system," he said.

London says Scottish ministers would have the final say on any transfer of Megrahi, who is set to appeal a conviction over the death of 270 people when Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over the Scottish town in 1988.

The issue, which emerged last year, has triggered the most visible split yet between London and Edinburgh.

JUST DIFFERENT

But Salmond dismisses any suggestion that he is playing out differences on this or other issues in public to try and cast London in a bad light.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," he said. "If we pursue a different policy in Scotland to the policy being pursued in London, that's because we're a different government."

He notably has high hopes for Scotland's economic success, which he feels could surpass that of Ireland which rose from rural backwater to "Celtic tiger."

In his view, economic success would in turn lead to warmer relations in other fields -- and, a keen football fan, he turns to the sport for an analogy.

In Ireland, football fans no longer cheer when former rulers England lose.

"I fully expect that when Scotland's independent ... the reaction to an English setback will be the same as it is in Dublin now, that is to say people won't take any delight by proxy, they'll just concentrate on positively supporting their own team," he said.
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