Chutzpah comes in many forms but there is no better example than the SNP’s unofficial election slogan: “Who benefits most from our policies? We all do.” This is a hostage to fortune that deserves to be remembered for a long, long time. Not because it is arrogant nor even because it is stupid but because it is impossible.
Not every political argument becomes a zero-sum game in which every winner must be matched by a loser, but many do. Nicola Sturgeon claims there is no contradiction between pursuing prosperity and fairness. As an election-time aspiration this is perfect: who could be against it? But what if a given policy increases “fairness” at the expense of “prosperity”? Or, for that matter, prosperity at the expense of fairness. You can’t back both so which horse do you pick?
This is more than just a question of principle. Ms Sturgeon has made much of her desire to reduce the “attainment gap” between pupils from wealthy postcodes and those from poor neighbourhoods. This is a worthy, necessary ambition but realising it will not be easy. Sometimes it may even require conflict.
The SNP government has tried to avoid making enemies. Those it has selected — that is, the people who do not benefit from the government’s policies — are either small in number (landowners), already unpopular (councils) or, preferably, both (the very wealthy). Few people care if these are the losers.
But what about teachers? As we report, the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) is preparing to ask whether its members support industrial action. It says teachers are overworked and struggling to deal with the demands imposed by the new Curriculum for Excellence. The government, however, plainly does not believe the demands are excessive. Indeed, the government position is, ipso facto, that the workload is in the best interests of pupils across the country.
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So conflict looms between a government acting in a way it believes most benefits pupils and a teaching union standing up for the interests of its members. It is difficult to see how both can be winners.
The government must decide if assessment is necessary, or does it capitulate to the teaching profession even if it means watering it down?
The choice will tell us something useful, and important, about Nicola Sturgeon’s government. Someone always has to lose, you see.