Like many who passionately believe in independence, Alex Salmond was the rock on which for the longest time I built my faith Scotland would one day carve its own destiny.
I was there in those heady days when he took the SNP from what was essentially a protest movement into a potent party of government. It defied all the political odds – and a stacked electoral system – to hold power and wield it well at Holyrood.
And with that came the real prospect the Scottish people would choose to create an independent country, fulfil our potential and pull up a chair at the table of nations.
Those were the days when we dared to stop dreaming and started to believe in ourselves. We could see Scotland for what it truly is – a resource-rich, skills-rich, people-rich, culture-rich, history-rich land, ready to rise up and rejoin the world.
At the heart of that was Alex Salmond, a skilled and canny politician, respected and feared by his opponents in equal measure. More than that, the fire in his heart and the power in his words were inspirational. He made independence seem not just desirable, but natural.
That fierce belief imbued everything he did and it was contagious. So much so, he took the referendum campaign from what seemed an impossible position (Westminster wouldn’t have agreed otherwise) to damn near pulling it off, narrowly thwarted at the last minute by an unprecedented campaign of fear and untruths from the establishment.
Of course, Salmond was a complex and divisive figure – one that came with warts and all. Some rather ugly warts at that.
But never at any point – not even with his ill-judged foray into Alba – was it ever in doubt Salmond believed in an independent Scotland with every fibre of his being.
Those accolades being heaped on him now come as the SNP are in the doldrums and opponents say the independence movement is spent.
Far from it. Polls continue to show support for Scottish independence is not only holding, but rising. It will continue to do so as Keir Starmer proves daily it doesn’t matter who you put into Number 10, the vampiric Westminster machine has little interest in Scotland beyond bleeding our resources for its own benefit.
What we need now is the passion, vision and spirit that Alex Salmond lived and breathed to be rekindled in our hearts. We need that laser focus on independence to return, from senior pro-Indy politicians to ordinary folk in the street.
Salmond was right, there is nothing to fear in taking charge of our own destiny and everything to gain.
It’s time to stop squabbling with each other, stop faffing around with fluff-like bottle return schemes and get back to the only thing that will truly make a difference to Scotland and all who live here. Independence.
The best tribute to Alex Salmond, the man who changed Scottish history, would be for Scots to come together and take that next step into our best possible future.
Scott Begbie is a journalist and editor, as well as PR and comms manager for Aberdeen Inspired
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