The American Founding Father, principal author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States, Thomas Jefferson, said that: “There is a debt of service due from every man to his country, proportioned to the bounties which nature and fortune have measured to him.”
In terms of our former First Minister Alex Salmond, nature and fortune were certainly handed out to him in sizeable measure which he will, in his usual modest style, readily admit. With a razor-sharp intellect and political antennae, a ferocious work ethic and a big personality to boot, he is one of the most formidable politicians to have ever graced the political stage on the British Isles. And always full of surprises.
On Tuesday afternoon he tweeted: “Pleased to announce that my FM pension will be donated to support young people, community & charitable causes.”
Yes, that’s right, a politician undertaking a selfless act. Like him or not, he has served his country and if there is any one act which shows how the character of the man and his sense of public duty to Scotland then this is it.
Having started working for him almost 10 years ago, I know this was no fluke. Alex, as he is known to most, or The Boss, to his close circle of staff, is a man driven by deeply held principles and traditional values.
The annual pension worth £42,501 which he will receive after stepping down will be distributed to charities in the north east of Scotland for as long as he is an MSP.
Alex said it was the “right thing to do”.
At the time of writing his tweet had 1,309 retweets and his announcement was universally welcomed. As his twitter parody Angry Salmond would no doubt say, that really is #sexysocialism.
Recognised widely as a political giant who has achieved some remarkable feats not only in his time leading Scotland but in his political career to date and I say to date as it’s clearly not over yet he is going out in style, surprising everyone again by going at a time and date of his choosing, which no previous First Minister has been able to do.
Even though he lost the independence referendum, Alex Salmond could have stayed. Nicola Sturgeon even tried to persuade him to. But his mind was made up. After seven-and-a-half years in office, Scotland’s longest-serving First Minister is now a backbench MSP. But not for long I suspect.
When I was a young special adviser to the First Minister, as part of the 2008 Scotland Week programme we visited the University of Virginia, which Thomas Jefferson founded.
Alex was in his element sharing his encyclopaedic knowledge of history. He told us that Thomas Jefferson was one of 19 of the 56 delegates who signed the Declaration of Independence who were either Scottish or had Scottish or Ulster ancestry.
Interestingly, Thomas Jefferson was tutored by a Scot too.
Jefferson considered the founding of the university to be one of his greatest achievements.
Alex Salmond considers restoring the principle of free education and abolishing tuition fees to be his.
It was in Virginia, after working for Alex for almost four years, that I heard him make his first speech on independence. For me, it was one of his finest.
Here is a small excerpt:
“(Independence) That is our vision. It is the same vision that Thomas Jefferson showed America in the Declaration of Independence. A Declaration that was steeped in the principles of the Enlightenment an intellectual revolution that Scots did so much to shape . . . And it is the words of Thomas Jefferson that will inspire us today and in the years ahead: “We are a people capable of self-government, and worthy of it.”
This principle was his political compass.
So after seven and a half years, how has he left Scotland?
I would say he has reset the terms of the debate in Scotland and how Scotland is considered. We are definitely a more confident nation.
He may not have achieved his ambition of independence, but he has left on a high. That in itself is a major achievement.
Whether it is restoring free education, transforming our energy production to harness our vast renewable potential, making Scotland one of the most attractive places in the UK to invest in, or simply ensuring Scotland had an actual government not a branch office “executive”, there’s a lot to be proud of.
He wasn’t perfect who is? But it was a privilege to work for a true radical, a true public servant and a politician driven by the principle of the sovereignty of the people.
As a staffer who has proudly served under his leadership I would say as thousands did on twitter this week #ThanksAlex.
But I don’t have to worry about saying goodbye. It’s clearly not over yet for Alex Salmond.