Richard Murphy: Why I'll miss my conversations with Alex Salmond

Over the last few years, since Alex lost his parliamentary seat in 2017, I met him on quite a number of occasions. Despite my reservations about its links with RT, I appeared on his programme on that channel with other people who I respected. Since that ceased, I’ve made other programmes with him. And always, there was time for conversation, chat and banter so that he never seemed to be an interviewer with whom I occasionally engaged and became instead someone with whom I could enjoy discussion on the economy, politics and the greater issues of the world that both seek to reflect.

A number of overwhelming impressions came out of those meetings and conversations. Alex was a man of formidable intellect. In a world where there are far too few critical thinkers, and few of them are willing to engage with the political process, Alex stood out from the crowd. That he was a major political thinker, leader and catalyst for change for more than half his life was unsurprising.

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On quite a number of occasions we scenario-played, working out what might happen with regard to the economy or politics and watching him work out what he thought the moves that various players might take would be was like watching a master chess player at work. He was never just interested in the next move but those several stages thereafter.

But what he never let you forget amongst all the political shenanigans in which he had, inevitably, to become involved was that there was always an end goal to all his political activity. We are all too familiar now with politicians who appear to engage in that activity almost solely for their own gratification. I never once had a feeling that Alex would compromise in that way. I am not saying that he was uninterested in material things including good food and wine, but you could never doubt that the one overriding passion that drove all this involvement in politics was his desire for the independence of Scotland, in which country and its people he had an utterly unshakeable belief.

(Image: PA) As readers of my column in The National will know, I am deeply critical of the bland leaderships of most of the English-based parties that seek to play roles in Scottish politics because it is almost impossible for anyone to find out what they believe in. Alex was so unlike that. In fact, that was so much the case that it almost felt as if he played politics on a different playing field to the rest, as in the end, it can almost be said that he did when others refused to engage with him. That, though, was at cost to Scotland and politics in general.

Inevitably, we spent much of our time discussing economics in depth, and one subject we returned to, often, was that of the Scottish currency. Alex was painfully aware of how his position on this had cost Scotland dearly in 2014. I think he regretted that. He also came to realise that the position that I and others in the Scottish Currency Group have promoted, that an independent Scotland must have its own currency within weeks of independence, is something that has to be true. Precisely because of that, he invited me back to make that point on his channel time and again, and over the years, our positions got closer.

Most important of all, though, of all the characteristics I associated with Alex was his humanity. He was not just likeable and charming, but he was also considerate, and I felt, on occasion, quite humble. For example, on one of the last occasions that he called me, I had to ask him if I could call him back because I was deeply engaged in resolving an issue on which my son and I were working.

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When my son asked me who it was that I had put on hold for his benefit, he was surprised to know that I thought that Alex would not mind me resolving issues with him on the basis of my promise that I would give Alex my undivided detention soon thereafter, but when I rang Alex back all he wanted to know was what we were engaged on and to talk about how my work on YouTube, for which my son is my editor, was developing. He had no other reason to ask other than he was interested. He was simply curious about what some other human beings were up to, and his questions revealed genuine interest. He was not at all offended that I had made him wait. He was one amongst equals.

And that was, as I recall it, the essence of Alex. He was a man with a passion for Scotland, its people – and all other people – and their freedom to be what they wanted. To that cause, he dedicated his life. And I am grateful that he did. The world and Scotland were better for his presence. I will miss our conversations.