Alex Salmond Quotes

While we might always have enjoyed self-expression, we have perhaps at times lacked a little bit of self-belief.

They say the art of government - rather than the substance - is all about communication, but as far as this country is concerned I would go even further than that. I would say that Scotland is all about communication. This is a nation that loves to express itself, to retell old stories and share new ideas, to pass on information, to hear what's happening. We communicate passionately with each other as friends, as citizens, as family. It's a very deep human need and we feel it particularly strongly in Scotland ... It's perhaps not surprising that we couldn't wait for somebody else to invent the telephone or television.

Is the time for Scotland to assume our obligations and responsibilities to help mould the world around us. This must be an era of renewed Scottish internationalism - both as a tribute to the past and a statement of who we are today. It is not just that we are a nation interested in Europe, but rather that it is fundamentally in our national interest that we understand what it is to be European.

In the European Union of today, the obligation to provide international leadership rests on all nations - large and small.

We must never forget that, at its core, the European Union is an expression of commonality - a desire for unity to prevent conflict and to encourage mutual benefit.

The scars remain and the wounds are still deep.

In this Parliamentary Chamber, above the clash of debate and the arm wrestling over amendments and motions, these enduring themes prevail - our responsibilities to the people we serve, our responsibility to our country and Scotland's responsibility to the world.

Our national story has its full share of grief and pain as well as triumph and expectation. But through it all, hope remains and dreams do not die.

This Parliament is led by Scotland's first minority Government. That innovation was unintended - very un intended - but it is one which has breathed new life into our political debate.

Change is what political leadership is about.

In Europe we see different visions of government in an interdependent world. Across the world we see a new order struggling to be born, one based on the rule of law and addressing the planetary imperatives of tackling mass poverty and global warming. These changes in governance are not to be feared but rather to be embraced. It is, after all, the essence of democracy that what has always been so, need not always be so.

I believe in the restoration of an independent Scotland. Others in this chamber take a different view. I welcome that debate and the national conversation to follow. The challenge for all of us is to have that conversation with dignity, with respect and with substance.

We are a country weighing the options for our future. We do so positively, and with the highest ideals.

Scotland is not confused, nor are we a people ill at ease.

This Parliament exists - and always will - to serve the people and to provide national leadership which reflects their hopes, addresses their fears and raises their aspirations. It is a Parliament which the people demanded. It is also a Parliament of which the people make demands.