Yesterday Labour MSP Michael McMahon decided to bring some levity into the chamber in a heated debate regarding Alex Salmond having to correct his statement to Holyrood about employment in the Scottish renewable industry.
Michael McMahon MSP
As Presiding Officer Tricia Marwick called for order, Mr McMahon decided to unveil his Al Pacino impression.
“You’re out of order!” he shouted, recalling Pacino’s words as lawyer Arthur Kirkland in “And Justice For All” in 1979.
Al Pacino
Sadly, Ms Marwick failed to see the funny side of the intervention, suspending Mr McMahon for a day. Granted, I have seen better impressions of Mr Pacino, but it was not that bad, was it?
Mind you, it would have given Mr McMahon an extra day to practice his next intervention – maybe he will re-enact Jack Nicolson’s famous portrayal of Colonel Nathan R Jessep in “A Few Good Men” when next Mr Salmond speaks at First Minister’s Questions – “You can’t handle the truth!”
Posted by, and this is the real me, Paul McConville
Random Thoughts Re Scots Law by Paul McConville 
at least salmond was ‘honest’ enough to aknowledge his ‘mistake’ and ‘correct’ it.
we’ve got labour in scotland laming the snp, for,
erm – the mess new labour handed down to the conservatives, who have slashed the budgets on everything, (except mp’s expenses)
which leads to my next point –
henry mcleish and david mcletchey – i can’t recall very much criticism from within their own parties for their ‘mistakes’ in numbers, when doing their respective ‘expenses’.
both were muddles not fiddles eh!?
taxi for mcletchey – erm, and mcleish !
@ jimlarkin
Don’t know about McLetchey but I do know that with McLeish there were personal circumstances which most at Holyrood and in MSM were well aware of – that was why he may appear to have been cut some slack.
He took full responsibility for what happened and I know that is something that politicians seldom do these days – but he did and paid the price.
I think McMahon has a fairly valid point when he points to Salmond and his very dodgy answers meriting no punishment and one shouted remark meriting a day’s suspension especially when he immediately apologised. And I find the Presiding Officer’s comment that he apologised too quickly to be really quite strange.
McMahon was an idiot and mouthed-off and almost in the same breath apologised – that’s what he’s like. I would rather have a quick apology than watch what we have done so often with politicians that they have to be hounded for weeks before they ‘really’ apologise.
I’d rather have MSPs who could exercise an iota of self control and a parliament where FM’s questions are used constructively. Sadly Holyrood increasingly resembles Westminster in this regard. Mr MacMahon went too far, he knows it. I dare say he will not be too bothered at having to sit out a session. Not exactly a draconian punishment was it?
The too quick apology comment was an odd one from the presiding officer, all it told me was that Mr MacMahon realised immediately that he had gone too far.
Marwick is a ‘homer’ and not up to the job –
We have a proven liar parading around the Holyrood ‘cooncil’ as First Minister, with a bottle of correction fluid in his pocket and being ‘nodded through’ day and daily by a ‘lackie’ of a Presiding Officer.
He displays incredible and increasing levels of narcissism, egged on by a bunch of sycophant sheep seated behind him.
Is it any wonder non-SNP MSPs are turning into Al Pacino?
Good to see a bit of balance. The oppostition no doubt are all faultless and never misquote figures or distort them to their own means. Their MSPs no doubt are all single minded free thinkers and only toe the party line from a genuine, well reasoned sense of agreement and mutual support. Sheep like following is only reserved for the SNP.
It seems to me the incessant sniping from the opposition is because they do not have the ability between them to stand up with a reasoned and sustainable arguement against what the SNP present. The quality of opposition is stunningly poor. No wonder the FM acts confidently (I wouldn’t go as far as narcissism), he has little to worry about from across the house.
While I openly support the SNP, I am no less saddened that the opposition (any of them) cannot offer more than token resistance and have chosen to stick with the pantomime politics approach of shouting “Oh no your not” to every policy advanced by the government.
If governance in Scotland is looking increasingly one sided it is due to the lack of credible opposition and that can not be laid at the SNP’s feet.
Gerard.you are of course quite entitled to all your views and let’s face it, regardless of who we support, we know that there can be, and are, failings on all sides.
The thrust of my point is, and I believe that I am a fair-minded person, that the SNP are behaving in a way that suggests we are living in a one-party state.
They appoint one of their own as PO and skew all the committees so as to have the ‘upper hand’.
The TRUTH is what they say it is….ALWAYS.
Rule number one – the majority party is RIGHT
Rule number two – even when the majority party is WRONG, it is RIGHT.
The opposition only has sniping left, because Salmond and his cabal will not honestly answer straightforward questions and indulge in filibustering to use up the time.
Tis is now a discredited REGIME!!!
Carl, I do not doubt that from the side of the opposition the SG looks very like a one party state because that is the result of any land slide victory – I don’t recall either the Tories or Labour taking another view when they each had turns at outright rule in Westminster . I also note that in setting up the voting system for the Scottish Parliament Labour believed they had a bullet proof system working against landslide majorities. The extent of the Unionist’s fall from grace is the fact that on a second term the SNP returned the landslide. This was done on the Unionists inability to present a credible opposition.
It is Ironic that the problem with the opposition in Scotland arises from being part of the Union. As for unionists (irrespective of party) the real work is done in London and that is where the best minds are sent. This leaves those who have yet to prove themselves and a fair sprinkling of dross for Holyrood, where they have to oppose the best the SNP can muster. While you may not rate the SNP, there is no doubt their front line is superior to the rest.
It should not be beyond the unionist parties to accept that some bills put forward by SNP are for the Nation’s good and that others need to be debated more vigorously, i.e. to pick the ground on which they choose to fight. What actually happens is far from this. At the last election the Scottish public recognised the failing and voted accordingly, giving the SNP an open field. Had the opposition been more competant in the last parliamentary term the situation would not have arisen. Sadly they show no signs to date of being more competant this time around.
I agree that the set up is not ideal as the SNP are in a position where they pull all the strings . I also believe strong government needs strong opposition. In myhonest opinion the current situation will not work in the SNP or Scotland’s favour in the long term.
@ thenamesGerard
I accept that various opposition party MSPs might get facts wrong.
But I do believe that Ministers, especially the First Minister – no matter what political party happens to be in power – have a much more onerous duty to get the facts correct quite simply because they are the Government and they also happen to have a vast array of civil servants at their disposal in a way which opposition parties don’t. So in my book they don’t have any excuse for getting it wrong.
Ecojon you set admirally high standards.