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S1 Daily Mail, Monday, November 13, 2006

I T is impossible to humili-a te J l;lc k McConne l l.Whether flaunting bisknees in a miniskirt orblithering at First Minis-te r's questions, the manregards shame as publicity.But, by appointing his personalprotege, Douglas Alexander, torun Mr McConneIl 's electioncampaign, Gardon Brown hascome close.Armour-plated though his conceitis, th e Firs t Minister must see that MrAlexander's mission is a decisive snubto hi m and his Cabinet.Th e Chance ll or mean s i t . Hede spises Mr McConnell . But thedetails of the reud each pretends tohave abandoned need not detain us .Wi t h Scotland 's future in the Unionpo ised at t he edge of a chasm. thecrucial issue is who has been se nt tosa ve us.The answer Is not just Douglas. thebizarrely boyish-looking 39-year-old Sliver -spoo n siblings: Do uglas and We ndy Alexander have had an easy pathSecretary of State for Transpor t andS cotland . This co un try's futu re isbeing e ntrust ed to a double act: thesibling du o jokingly known as theAlexander Sisters. UShile Douglas prepares to pi t hisnerd y wits against Alex Salmond 'sengaging char isma, his bi g Siste rWendy has re-emerged at Holyrood ,relnvlgorated afte r th e birth of hertwins. Ambition

Motherhood Is no longer enough fort.he wom an wi th t he oratortcal styleof a frenzied rodent , She has red is covered ambition .The shape of Oordon Brown's plan. for SCotland is emerging. Douglas willnght of t th e Nationalist threat . soleaving the gro und clea r for Wendy to

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..... ......,.But. th e erudition t.bat. marked t.hemout. as future leaders when both werepupils at Park Mains High &:0001 InErslid.ne, RenCrewshlre. has 50fa f proved In ad!!quat.e In theharsh world or rt!s l pollt.IC!!;.Eac h lacks an attribute withou t which successtUJ democrati c leaderslUp i.5 Wl1ikdy.Douglas's rnl5sinK characteris tic Is warmt.h . tlearlng himspeak Is like wlLchlng per marrost . He tells Jokes andreco unt. s anecdotes with arobotic dearth or passion. I by Tim LuckhurstHis grin reca lls th e I r is hp olitician Daniel O 'Cannell 's(1715 1847) de3cripUon or t.heBrlUsh $t.at.esman Robe rt. Peel(1 78Q..1MO I: 'When he smiled it.~ e d me ofthe brass nameplate on a eomn lid.'Fellow Labour MPs call him' that little bS."Ita.rd Alexander' ,H e Is th e a p o t heos i s oramblt.lon ....1lhout co mpassion.Wendy Is not un emot ionaLShe fam ous ly relected the0PP0rlunlty 1. 0 IgM J ackM cCo nne l l (o r Stot.1and 's lOpJob In order to g tt married, toProfel'lsor Brian Ashcren., andbt'come a mo ther. Nobody canbegrudge her that .

Arrogance .The courage she showed Inresisting preuure to stand fromGordon Brown and Tony Blalrmarks he r out as more humanthan her br o t.her. B ut herarrogance . thoutm less obnoxIous, can be debilitating.ScotJand will no t rorget thatit was Wendy Alexander wholnslst.ed on maJdru: the repeal ofSec.Uon 28 th e dc!nlng crusadeo ( D ona ld Oewor ' s r ir s tdevolved cabml't .One can think ....hat olle likeso( th e policy. That Is not th epoint . I l hud no . re-a tu red inLabour's election maniresto andIt was hUlife ly unpopular withthe nwJorlt:y of Labour voters .Wendy di d no t c are . WILhImpe rt ' lou s sa n cti mony shelectured us o n why we mustsimply accept r d ~ l o n . Th e n , ra ce d with robuat

0rDOSitlon, she revealed a fonno lnt.elleetual myopia that hasprOved bo rr lbly common InLabour 's leading women. Theyknow but . Tbey mu st beobeyed.lJke some Doctor Who-style'lnvaslon or the marauding mistresses or moral certainty'. they9!1JJ hector us untUwe surrender:

wendy Alexander was e r o d o u . ~ In promot ing a cause that wasIn'elevant to mos t Seots. SuchimperiOWi behavtour ra.rely pro-duces great democ::raUc leadel"5.Douglas and Wendy Al exander ar e th e academic equals orbriUianl Labour predeceMO rl'IIncluding Anthony Cros land ,Wehael Fool and Roy Jenldns .The problem Is that non eor t.hese , reat In te ll ectu al sr e ached the top o r t he i rproresslon . They were toodis tant rrom everyday li re tograsp popu1ar priorities.That takes a roundl'd personality and neither Alexander ye tpossesses one or those . It is saidthat each beUeves the comm ont.o u ch Is a style o r abst.rac tpainting.Scotland's leading politicalsi blings wer e born four yearsapa r t with lh e same silverspoon in their mouths .Throughout thei r rormallveyears Lhelr faLher, th e ReverendDougla s Ale-xander. was thebest connected mlnlsU!r in tht'ChUrch of Scotlan d . Do n aldDewllr an d John Smith wereregular gues ts at the manSewhere they up . Thei r adorIng mother. Jo yce , a d octo r.helped La ensu re they wereIntimate with the powerful.I f 9!'e alth is calculated in

exclusively monetary tenn5, th eyoung Alexanders were not rich.But in th e currency of ScottishLabour sollt iCS - (r ie nd s ,fllvours one and Innuenceowned - they were millionairesberore they len. schoolThey learned poliUcal Lactlcsat c.helr parents' kitclten table.The Rev. Alexander p ruyed forOo nald Oewar even wben th eco nnrmed at heist bened himnot to .Later he wou ld advertise b.lsstatus In th e Scottish Labourarbtocracy by pres iding overth e cburch funeral Oewa r didnot want.Such a carefulJ.y woven web ofinn uence pays dlvtdends In lhenepotlstlc mldden of Scot tb.hLabour politics. Douglas an dWendy's careel"5 prove il .Connections

Appointed /!Ipeda.1 adviser toher dad ' , ol d friend OonaldDewar 9.$ 500n as Labour wonthe 1997 General El ec tio n ,Wendy was tewarde-d Immedi ately with 11 se at In th e new5cotUsh parUa.ment.. with out serving a day on the back benches. sh e W85 promoted IntoDewar's nrst Cabinet.Douglas 's path was onlyslightly more dlmcult . He di dnof wi n a seat In th e House orCommons at th e 1997 GeneralElf'Ctlon.But rollowlng the suicide orPai sley S o uth Labour MPGordon McMa st.er - (he vtctlmo( 8 vtcioWi torren t or rumourthat won fo r Paisley th e ruckname ' 11 LOwn called malice' -Douglas's connectJons uw himelect.ed at. th e s ublllequent

by-election. Since t.hen herisen v,;(thout trace th rou ghWhitehall 's ministerial rank ...He began as mlnlste-r foreo-commerce at the Departmentor Trade and IndusLry, m ovedbefore he COUld I'ull to becomf'Cha n cello r o r the Duchy ofLancaSLer and . In '2005 , wa sappointed MlnlS\.er (or Europt'where his brier was to win areferendum on th e EuropeanconsUtutlon.Nobody can ca ll Dou, l asAlexander unlucky - the French' non' on the co nnltution savedhis ca reer (rom the stigma ofInt.'vltable fallure.

Life h as been too easy (o rthese gilded socialist. Siblings.A t a tJme when Scotland needsurgent and dynamic leadership1.0 sa ve It. rrom separatism .neither has any record ofsucceu: as a streeUl.ghter.Oordon Brown may tru s tt hem lO rescue Brit.ain ft"om thedisa st ro us co n seque nces ofdevolution , but If that is h isview then he Is placing OU rfuture in fragile hands.Douglas Alexand er hasclimbed the greasy pole withoutachieving anything or sl gn ln cance. HIs aisLer has a demonstrable tendency to commit he renergies to trivtal causes.DougLu and Wendy Alexanderare certainly brighter than theaverage Labour numpty. But tokee p Sco tland In the Un ionthey mu st grow up (ast.

Thelr upbringing in Labour'swann em brace ha.. corrupt,>dthem.. 1'hey am to become thedominant J;nasty In Sc otW;hpolitics b ('ca u se they ....f'rebrought up to rell:ard that asth eir deslin.y.In the' days w h ~ n this countryvoted Labour without lhInking.lhey might well have succeeded. Now. each mU5t Rnd theattributes to Dgbt (or ScoUandnot Just. for personal a d v a m ~ e mt'cllt. Tinl!! is running out.