Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

There’s no business like political show business

There’s no business like political show business

Politics is show business for ugly people. At least it is according to Paul Begala, the former strategist to Bill Clinton and Al Gore, who coined the now-famous phrase all the way back in 1992.

It is true, to a certain extent at least. I don’t mean to insult the attractiveness of those whom we elect to represent us but it is definitely fair to say that a good number of them love nothing better than the theatre of it all.

This week has given us numerous examples of that. Take David Cameron’s negotiations about the terms of the UK’s membership of the EU as a prime case in point. Could anything have been more predictable than the plot that is currently playing out?

A whistle-stop tour of Europe is embarked on, with the aim of charming all the leaders of fellow member states as best as possible.

But wait! There is dissent! Will the PM secure the deal he so desperately seeks?

Tune in after the break to find outthat he is convinced he has.

So far, so predictable.

Yet that did not stop the Downing Street spin machine hyping up the talks whenever it was felt necessary to do so.

We in the press are compliant in this, panicking in print and wondering out loud what will come of such talks.

That is because it is important those in power are properly held to account.

Depressing as it may be, the game has to be played if you are to see through it clearly.

And there is method to politicians’ apparent madness.

Constructing such narratives and occasional hyperbole is not done for pure enjoyment, despite the fact many love it so.

It is done to try and con voters. It is done to make leaders of the day look like heroes or, if there is a more Machiavellian intent, it makes opponents look like evil oppressors.

This is self-evident with No. 10’s EU negotiations.

Make it look tough, find blood in the stone of Brussels, claim a hard-won victory in the face of some bureaucrats and win the referendum as enough people think you’ve done something extraordinary on their behalf.

It’s insulting to know strategists think this type of game could work. It is more depressing to realise that, often, it does, to devastating effect.

Up here in Scotland, the SNP are masters at the art.

It is a play that one could suggest is currently being staged with the Scotland Bill as the rather technical underpinning plot.

Both the Treasury and the Scottish Government’s finance team are locked in negotiations over the fiscal framework which will underpin the legislation.

It is complicated and difficult.

Meetings are also being held behind closed doors, in an effort to, seemingly, make it even less appealing to ordinary people.

With that in mind, Deputy First Minister John Swinney’s team has been out of the blocks, out-manoeuvring its Whitehall counterparts when it comes to the plot-thickening narrative.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon set a deadline, firmly backing UK ministers into a corner. Then briefings emerged from the secret meetings, telling us the deal on the table was simply not fair.

Now we are eight days away from the end of the road as far as the SNP is concerned, despite Scottish Secretary David Mundell’s attempts to push the Valentine’s deadline back by a fortnight.

If no deal is agreed they will bat away accusations they have bottled taking more responsibility and powers for Scotland by saying it was big, bad

Westminster trying to rinse us for cash like the bandits they are.

Alternatively, an agreement is made and everyone is happy, with Swinney the hero. Heads I win, tails you lose.

It’s frustrating and you may understandably hate any one of the players but remember this: they all love the game.