We've invited those in the election firing line to send regular bulletins about the personal side of campaigning. James Mackenzie is head of media for the Scottish Green Party.At the start of this week I was head of media for two Green MSPs, and now I'm head of media for a party – like all the others – without a single MSP to my name. One of the two is campaigning hard to get back in, and the other's working to get his friends and colleagues elected, but the transition was understandably emotional. I go back to the period where we had never had an MSP to our name, just, and I still remember our eve-of-poll stunt from 1999. A half-dozen activists in the classic Greenpeace-style white boiler suits, Robin Harper in the already well-kent scarf, David Bellamy (before he went nuclear), and a 15-foot inflatable turd borrowed from Surfers Against Sewage. The "Millbank Tendency" in the back of the van kept reminding people not to say "give your number twos to the Greens".
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Times have changed. Now it's all much less homespun and a bit more like The Thick Of It, albeit without the violence done to fax machines. This week's campaign launch featured a lovely six-square-foot pledge card (protect public services, free education, insulate every home – thanks for asking) and a full complement of media asking tough questions about costings. That's a good sign, by the way. If you draw a blank on the Q&A it's because they're probably not going to write it up unless someone slips up, or they're only really there for the pastries. At the launch, the snappers wanted a pic of one of our top candidates wearing a bright green tie borrowed from a colleague, not his nice coordinated blue tie to go with his blue shirt. One iron law of media is this – unless they're trying to make you look absurd (abseiling, falling over, standing in front of a bit of rude graffiti) you just have do what the snappers ask. It just reminded me of the line from the old-fashioned Tory who objected to sartorial instructions – "But I always tuck my shirt in, it's part of getting dressed." A spot of gentle Malcolm Tucker from me and the unfashionable tie was donned. Another iron law is this – the awkward journalists aren't from the News of the World or the Daily Mail – it's the trade press. On launch day, the only issue which almost led to some swearing over the phone from my genial colleague was the intricate detail of our policy on a minority sporting activity. I sometimes wonder if these calls are from the other parties' press offices putting on funny voices to tie me up and waste our time. Now there's an idea…Donate to us: support independent, intelligent, in-depth Scottish journalism from just 3p a day
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