One of the UK's leading media pundits has described The Sun newspaper as 'the paper of political U-turns'.
Roy Greenslade, in his blog for The Guardian. describes how the paper has “supported both the Labour and Conservative parties in the Westminster general elections”, adding: “Its Scottish edition has performed the same pragmatic trick. In the early 1990s it plumped for the Scots Nats Then, in 2007, it took against the Nats, featuring a hangman's noose in the shape of an SNP logo, stating 'Vote SNP today and you put Scotland's head in the noose'.”
Yesterday, The Scottish Sun announced it is supporting SNP leader, Alex Salmond, during the run up to the Scottish Parliament elections next month.
Greenslade goes on to say: “The Sun doesn't really care for the SNP or Salmond. It has no time for the central ambition of the Nats to achieve independence. It is an unashamedly unionist newspaper. The editor, Andy Harries, did his best in a BBC interview to square that circle. 'We won't always agree with all their policies,” he said. But “the SNP has proved to be a capable and trustworthy government… Salmond and his team are head and shoulders above anything Labour has to offer.'
“The Sun's supposedly 'independent' Scottish stance is nothing of the sort. It is a cynical act, a piece of old-fashioned realpolitik.”
