Question Time

I can’t wait to work for the Scottish Government. But since I have to while the FBI customer service is taking their time with my criminal record check (boring, I know - but hey, they have debited my credit card, so at least they are processing my request), and I can’t start work before I am all cleared, I visited the Scottish Parliament today again. For the third time. And I got told off twice before even entering the premises. First, I parked my bike in an inappropriate position and locked it to “Government furniture” (which was a sign that said “Scottish Government”), and then I went for the exit to enter the building - although I swear that that exit used to be the entrance the last time I had visited.

Anyway, I had booked one of the very popular tickets for the First Minister’s Questions session, where Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) ask the First Minister questions. The First Minister is the big boss of the Scottish Government, like the chancellor in Germany, the prime minister in Westminster, or the US president. The questions he is asked by the MSPs of the opposition parties are neither nice nor neccessarily very productive. But it is great to witness how he deals with them (or doesn’t), and how the different factions respond to each other’s polemics. These sessions are all filmed and available online, but to be there and experience the atmosphere, the ridicule and hostility is great fun.