Not the Best Wee Country in the World

Jack McConnell's tagging of Scotland as the "Best Small Country in the World" in his former incarnation as our First Minister really annoys me.

It annoys me for several reasons. Firstly it smacks of the kind of national chauvinism that I shy away from. I never have bought into the idea that Scotland is somehow the "best" country in the world, or somehow better than others (the implication of best logically being that we must somehow be better than others). In fact all I want for Scotland is equality. I just want my country to be an equal member of the community of nations.

Secondly, I am hugely irked by the suggestion that Scotland is somehow "small". It annoys me when this is literally suggested. If you actually look at the size of Scotland in comparison to other nations in the world, our population places us right in the middle. (See here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population) So in fact we are not a small country, but a perfectly reasonably sized one.

I am even more moved though by the suggestion that Scotland is figuratively small. Certainly the unionists would keep us confined to our own backyard and think small, but Scotland presents limitless opportunities for itself if it only demands the means to achieve such. The "Scottish cringe" is conjured up by this talk of us being small and I really hate it.

So having made my case against Scotland being the "best small country in the world", it is interesting to see today a report commissioned by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) that has attracted plenty of attention to quite clearly indicate that even if you bought into the rhetoric, the reality is somewhat different.

I certainly think the reportage that we are the "worst small country in Europe" is a tad over the top, but the report and its coverage brings into stark contrast McConnell's slogan with reality. Using measures such as health, life expectancy, employment prospects and educational attainment, this report places Scotland bottom out of ten countries of nine million or less.

And it is not just the FSB that can point to the ludicrous nature of Scotland being the best of the small. The United Nations Human Development Index - which broadly speaking measures quality of life in each UN member country - has consistently ranked Norway as the number one place to live on Earth in recent years. This country has a population some half a million less than ours. If any country can boast about being the "best" (although I would hope all nations would shun such pomposity) then surely it is Norway.