All to Play For, Whatever the Polls Say

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  • Scotland’s Independence Referendum: All to Play For, Whatever the Polls Say

    http://www.globalpolicy.org/component/content/article/171-emerging/52003-scotlands-independence-referendum-all-to-play-for-whatever-the-p

    By Michael White
    The Guardian
    October 16, 2012

    On October 15, Scotland’s Alex Salmond and British Prime Minister David Cameron signed a historic 30-clause agreement that would break up the 300-year-old union by allowing a referendum for independence before the end of 2014. While polls indicates that popular support remains weak, Michael White argues that “in turbulent times like these, too much can happen in the next two years to swing the result either way.” The Scottish case might in fact be symptomatic of a global trend: the economic crisis and unpopular austerity policies amplify the popularity of separatist parties and threaten long-time established states, as electoral successes have recently shown in Catalonia, Flanders and Quebec.

    With the polls reporting that Scots are currently two-to-one against breaking up their 300-year-old union with England, the part-time unionist papers in London are already taunting Alex Salmond that he is engaged in “mission impossible” in seeking to win the referendum he agreed with David Cameron. Don’t you believe it; that is foolish, complacent talk.

    #royaume-uni #écosse #indépendance