And they're Off!

Leadership Elections
I received a mailing from the Iain Gray campaign this week. Yes, us ordinary hoi polloi are getting a say in who will lead the Labour group at Holyrood!
I am touched - moved even, that a candidate would take the time to write to a humble member seeking support. Because the letter starts 'Dear David' I am taking this as a sign that Iain Gray is now officially my mate so I will vote for my new buddy!
Seriously though, despite the fact that he has the support of Lord George Foulkes, I will vote for him. He has a background that indicates some experience of real life: as a teacher and as a worker with Oxfam. And as a fellow Hibs supporter, he also intimate knowledge of dealing with constant disappointment. Inspirational he is not - none of the candidates are - but I do think he has an air of honesty that Andy Kerr does not. I like Cathy Jamieson, but as Deputy Leader, she was too closely involved in the Alexander Affair for my liking. And while I think Cathy's politics are perhaps closest to my own, she may also be hindered by the 'always the bridesmaid' syndrome. An able Deputy Leader (what does the Deputy Leader actually do, other than stand in at FMQs from time to time?) does not necessarily make her leadership material.
I think Iain's enforced absence from Holyrood - he lost his Pentlands seat to David McLetchie in 2003 before returning last year - has probably done him no harm either. He returns of something of a fresh face (admittedly not a particularly photogenic one, but a fresh one nonetheless) and he will not be closely associated with what is increasingly seen as the 'same old same old' face of Labour in Scotland.
I reckon Iain may also be the beneficiary of an East - West split, with his opponents' supporters likely to cut each others' throats (metaphorically, of course) over in the Wild West.
Whoever wins will have a big task on his/her hands to rejuvenate the Labour Party in Scotland (yes, I know the victor is only head of the Holyrood group of MSPs, but as far as the media is concerned it's the 'Scottish Labour leader'). None of the three will particularly scare the SNP leadership, but I think Iain Gray's grasp of detail may serve to unsettle Mr Salmond a little. The SNP have had it all too easy so far and the country - any democratic country - needs an effective opposition.
Whoever wins I wish them the very best of luck. I've had one victory already as Cheeky Charlie Gordon could not amass the five nominations necessary to allow him to enter the leadership contest. Clearly my comrades have learned something from Donorgate, and that's as good a starting point as any.

We tend to forget that there is another ongoing leadership contest, of course - the media spotlight appears to have been switched off completely as far as the Lib Dem contest is concerned. Surprising, as the three names in the frame are political giants - well, in the world of the Lib Dems they are ... maybe. The clash of the titans here is between eternal outsider Mike Rumbles, Ross 'Captain Mainwaring' Finnie and some Viking bloke from up north who may be a distant relation of Noggin the Nog - yes, that's him, Tavish Scott. The Lib Dems are clearly spoilt for choice - and I can't help but wonder how different it may have been for them had they went into coalition with the SNP at the start of the Parliament. Would they be in the state of inertia that they are now? We'll never know, but I doubt that a new leader make any difference to their position in the polls.
I've no preference or real interest who will win this contest, but I do find Ross Finnie quite a comical figure. I reckon Scott will win - spin over substance - but the Lib Dems should maybe go for a more senior figure. What about Scott's wicked uncle, Nogbad the Bad? If he's not a card-carrying member get him signed up now - his dastardly cunning and evil plotting would make him more than a match for Wee Eck!