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Scotland to unveil blueprint for independence

— PHOTO: AFP

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE: Scottish Parliament’s Presiding Officer George Reid in the House at Holyrood, Edinburgh, in this October 2004 file photo.

Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, will this week unveil his blueprint to take the country independent from London’s control.

In keeping with his election promise to deliver a white paper on the country’s future within the United Kingdom within the first 100 days of a Scottish National Party (SNP) Government, he will seek a “national conversation.”

The 60-page document, “Choosing Scotland’s Future — Independence and Responsibility in the Modern World”, is expected to set out the “big picture for Scotland.” It spells out the choices facing the country: leaving devolution to evolve naturally by shifting powers gradually from London to Holyrood under the Scotland Act, pushing for increased fiscal autonomy within the U.K., and going for full independence. By seeking public debate, Mr. Salmond has achieved his aim of honouring his promise to deliver a plan for independence while avoiding a bitter defeat in any open battle.

So far, the SNP administration has managed to tread a fine line between co-operation and confrontation with the U.K. Government. Mr. Salmond knows that if the nationalists push for a referendum on independence now, they would lose and the subject would be buried for at least a generation.

Instead. he plans to encourage debate on the suggestion that the country faces a choice much more complicated than a straightforward divorce from the rest of the U.K. The road to independence is likely to prove a long one, and the SNP administration knows it has to persuade the public step by step. — © Guardian Newspapers Limited, 2007

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