The bitter feud between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, former and present First Ministers of Scotland, finally erupted into a daggers drawn scenario, which could throw the independence struggle off track. He accused her of repeatedly misleading parliament over the investigation into multiple sexual misconduct allegations against him. If proved she might be forced to resign.
It’s a bewildering political, legal and procedural guddle with the original botched Holyrood inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct against Salmond having been found to have been “tainted by apparent bias.” A subsequent court case found him not guilty on 12 of the sexual assault charges facing him, while another charge was found not proven. His defence barrister said in his summing up “I’m not here to suggest he always behaved well or couldn’t have been a better man on occasions. I’m dealing with whether or not it was established he was guilty of serious, sometimes very serious, criminal charges,” which require a “very, very high standard of proof”. They were majority verdicts.
There were suggestions that a political conspiracy from within the Scottish National Party lay behind some of the charges.
This is a rehash of an earlier March 24 2020 post.
Salmond, 31 December 1954 4.30pm Linlithgow, Scotland, is an articulate and charismatic figure, an astute politician with a considerable ego, who led Scotland to near independence, but also suffers from questionable judgement, notably in fronting a talk show with the Putin-backed Russia Today network.
He is facing a whole raft of negative influences last year and on for several years ahead, which he’ll approach with his usual bullish confidence. From March 2020 tr Neptune was conjunct his 10th house Mars which usually accompanies a sense of panicky-failure, and that influence repeated in September and will come round again in February 2021. His Solar Arc Midheaven opposed his Saturn in 2020 and even more discouraging his Solar Arc Mars is approaching the exact square to his Pluto within weeks which is trapped and frustrating. He does suffer from asthma so health worries may be part of it.
Tr Pluto will oppose his Uranus Jupiter in 2021/22 from late February onwards which will put him into confidence-overdrive, determined to make waves, but his Solar Arc Saturn will oppose his Jupiter Uranus by 2022 for setbacks and a dead-halt. 2022/23 also sees tr Neptune conjunct his 10th house Moon, which doesn’t suggest career success or voter popularity; and that coincides with an undermining Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Sun and tr Pluto square his Neptune. It should be a time to crawl into a bunker and lie low, except he’s unlikely to go quietly.
Nicola Sturgeon, 19 July 1970 3.16 pm Irvine, Scotland, has bolstered her popularity with her response to Boris’s Brexit and the CV19 crisis. Her relationship with Salmond who was her mentor, was never as cosy as the red carpet moments. His controlling Pluto is conjunct her Midheaven so he would shape her career but also insist on having total control; and his ambitious Mars opposed her Pluto for what clearly turned into a bitter power struggle.
Their relationship chart has a friendly and affectionate composite Sun Venus conjunction. But also a one-upmanship Jupiter Pluto conjunction – initially that can provide a surge of joint enthusiasm pushing the pair onto success but when it falls apart – as it usually does – the energy turned inwards and creates a tussle for the last word and the upper hand. There’s also a one-sided composite Saturn square Mars which suggests a partnership where one partner has to sacrifice their needs to prevents arguments; and Mars is also in a volatile square to Uranus. It has been under immense pressure since the 2014 Referendum with the tr Pluto square tr Uranus hitting on the composite Sun Venus and tr Neptune undermining the Jupiter Pluto.
2021/22 has a tr Pluto trine the composite Mars so the hostility is unlikely to wind down any time soon. It will remain high-wire and strung out also because the tr Uranus square tr Saturn will hit on the paranoid/neurotic composite Neptune square Saturn in 2021/22 as well.
Sturgeon like Salmond is in a bullish mood for the next three years though is also under huge pressure with tr Pluto opposition her Cancer Sun and square her Jupiter. She looks extremely frustrated and road-blocked in 2022 with tr Pluto opposition her Sun/Mars and worse in 2023/24 with tr Pluto opposition her Mars. It doesn’t look like a time of overwhelming success and jubilation.
Marjorie, two comments. From Canada, I wouldn’t know to what extent this unfortunate story would affect Scotland’s independence chances. However, Sturgeon’s frustration over the next three years may have little to do with Salmond. It may have more to do with the fact that she is legally required to obtain the British PM’s consent to hold another referendum. There is no such requirement in Canada. Quebec has held two referendums on sovereignty without the consent of the federal government and Canada’s Supreme Court has subsequently upheld its right to do so at any time. That is because Canada is a federation with greater autonomy for Quebec than there is for Scotland. Johnson has said he will withhold consent. Although Sturgeon has stated she might do without, she might not have enough support to do so even if she is reelected in May. She will likely have to wait, much to her irritation, until the next British election in 2024.
My second comment is more personal. I was born 11 January 1955. I have therefore similar aspects to Salmond, notably a more direct opposition from my Sun to our common Jupiter-Uranus conjunction. My SAG ASC means Jupiter rules my chart. I have found all aspects to that conjunction turn out to be fortunate. The only difference with a Saturn aspect to it is it might be initially painful or impose a temporary setback that ultimately proves to be beneficial.