23rd August 2010
ONE HUNDRED DAYS
When Franklin Delano Roosevelt was elected US President in 1933, he set about reforming the Depression-hit country from the second he took office and famously passed a dozen landmark bills in his first 100 days.

Ever since then, new governments of all stripes have been subject to snap judgements after this period and this week it was the turn of the Con-Dem coalition at Westminster.

The unholy alliance of Nick Clegg and David Cameron has received mixed reviews in the media.

But most reasonable people will realise that governments will be judged over their full term in office and this is merely an exercise in filling column inches for newspapers during the quiet summer period.

With elections to be held for the Scottish Parliament next May, more pressing questions are being asked of the SNP government in Edinburgh and their record since getting in to power in 2007.

In the first 100 days of a SNP government, the novelty factor and the cheap giveaways ensured they enjoyed rave reviews but the tide has slowly and surely turned.

In a YouGov poll just this week, 70 per cent of people thought the SNP’s policy on crime wasn’t tough enough and 68 per cent thought offenders had more rights than victims.

In our community, we know the failures of this government to put people first, rejecting the public’s call for a mandatory knife sentence despite a spirited local campaign.

This has been compounded by a watering down of anti-social behaviour legislation and the ending of short-term prison sentences.

And of course, another reminder this week as the Lockerbie bomber celebrated the anniversary of his release at his home in Tripoli, feted as a hero despite his despicable crime and public outrage here in Scotland.

The complacency of this government, its failure to respond to the concerns of the innocent majority and the litany of broken manifesto promises mean its days are numbered.