Surveying the land
- 30 Apr 07, 12:15 PM
ON TOP OF THE FORTH BRIDGE: I am 361ft high above the Firth of Forth with the man who's riding high in the opinion polls. Alex Salmond is surveying the land which he hopes and believes he is about to govern. His dream - on the eve of the 300th anniversary of the Union - is that he will be the last mere First Minister of a Scotland whose economic, foreign and defence policies are set in London.
From where we are standing we can see the house of the Scot who's just weeks away from becoming the prime minister who will wield that power.
As he looks out at the Firth of Forth, Gordon Brown will reflect that Salmond could spoil not just his first few weeks but much of his time at the top.
Salmond says that, like Ken Livingstone in London, they'll learn to get along.
The polls have barely budged during this campaign. The question being asked by we election watchers is whether Salmond is like Blair in '97 - nothing can shift the electorate's settled will to give him power - or is he like Kinnock in '92 - the frontrunner who the public will pull back from backing once they take seriously the prospect of his being in power. I suspect the result may well be closer than many of the predictions.
Now it's too cold and too windy to write more from here!
UPDATE 1350 BST I have shocking news. It is a myth that they are always painting the Forth bridge! Apparently they expect the coat they're painting now to last 25 years .
