Lesley Riddoch on the banks of the Tay. Picture: Gordon Terris THERE’S a large stuffed-toy tiger peering up from behind Lesley Riddoch as she chats over a Zoom video call from her home in coastal Fife. It is, she explains, a gift for one of her stepdaughters, but also a jokey and cuddly representation of something from her work-life. Her latest documentary, Estonia: The Baltic Tiger, out last month, looks at the economic success of the Baltic country since it gained independence in 1991 – so tigers are a kind of theme of the moment. “Actually I have two Baltic tigers here,” she said. “I got them for my stepdaughters who have both just got a flat and a house. One is in the Hague in the Netherlands, the other is in London. We haven’t seen each other because of lockdown and now I’m thinking in what situation will Jenny emerge from the Netherlands with a large enough case to put a fricking tiger in?”
ВЗГЛЯД / Коронавирус превращает Эстонию из «прибалтийского тигра» в котенка :: В мире
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P Davidson Falkirk THE SNP drive to overwhelmingly win the 2021 Holyrood election is more important than the egos and aspirations of any individual or of any internal factions. There has been a lot that has happened with the SNP that should not have happened. That is not to take sides but to emphasise the point that the collective aim of winning this election is the most important cause, and the reason for the SNP’s existence. Every other issue, irrespective how any individual may feel, is of secondary importance. To further emphasise the point, I have a number of friends who are not members of the SNP but who have been political activists, in different party structures, all of their lives for the type and political structure they would like Scotland to be. They have individually decided, as they are not a single collective, to put aside their historical beliefs to vote for the SNP to win the 2021 election as the only route to deliver Scottish independence. After Scotti
SOMETIMES we should thank critics of independence for managing to do what we seemingly cannot – switch our energies from internal division to building the case for Yes. Three cheers, then, for the gloomy academic study on the costs of independence, published yesterday, which served to refocus minds wonderfully. Or should have. The London School of Economics (LSE) analysis says independence will “leave Scotland considerably poorer”, hitting our economy up to three times harder than Brexit and leaving Scots up to £2800 a year worse off. Never mind any of the divisive, headline-grabbing issues of recent days. This is the biggest challenge currently facing ALL Yes campaigners in a oner. Even though Covid has thrown every balance sheet up in the air. Brexit proves Westminster rule is economically riskier than independence. EU membership now sits on the independence side of the equation.
THE tiny Baltic republic of Estonia regained independence in 1991 after almost 70 years of Soviet and Nazi occupation – a difficult birth amidst the collapse of the Soviet Union, with no petrol for ambulances or food on the shelves. Its GDP has since increased five-fold and today it’s recognised as Europe’s “Baltic Tiger”. But the country’s newfound economic success is solidly based on cultural confidence – a singing revolution, a much-loved language, an irrepressible national identity, a bold, youthful leadership and a people who never gave up. Are there lessons for Scotland or are our circumstances simply too different? Estonia: The Baltic Tiger tries to answer that question. Funded by Chris Weir and the Scottish Independence Foundation, filming with director Charlie Stuart began in February 2020 to coincide with the country’s Independence Day celebrations – and ended abruptly with lockdown a few weeks later.
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