Alex Salmond plays a dangerous game with Diageo
Fresh from defeat in saving the Diageo Kilmarnock plant, Alex Salmond, leader of the Scottish executive, has today attacked Diageo claiming that the company "cannot just walk away" from the problems the planned closure will cause in the area. However, this is a very high-risk strategy when you consider that Diageo still employs over 4000 people in Scotland and still remains one of the largest employers in the country.
The plan to save the Kilmarnock plant, put forward by the Scottish executive, was ridiculed by Diageo which many believe is the reason why Alex Salmond has been particularly aggressive today. They were apparently no costings and it failed to address the needs and future of the Diageo business, which is in basic terms a private company. Even though Alex Salmond refuses point blank to apologise for his "megaphone politics" which saw him join a very robust and boisterous demonstration against the company, there is a feeling he is doing Scotland more harm than good at the moment.
This does not exactly give the right impression for those looking at Scotland as a potential base for their business and neither does it make those companies currently trading in Scotland feel appreciated.
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