The day has come when I bid farewell to Scotland. I have lived more than half my life in Scotland. I have always felt very welcome here. I love the place, the sea, the mountains and I have many good friends and colleagues.
I leave with a sense of betrayal. The government and the wider elite from where the government is coming does not care for anybody but themselves and their friends. The Tories are merely interested in power and marinating it. They have hollowed out what system there is and bent it to their sole benefit. In the early nineties before I came to Scotland and I lived in Germany, a very good friend of mine told me that she would leave the UK if the Tories won again. At that time I just could not understand what she meant. I do now.
I also feel that I am betraying my friends by leaving them in this mess, by being able to take a new opportunity elsewhere. The challenges the UK face are immense. I do not think an independent Scotland would make any of these challenges any smaller. But I do think it would offer a different approach to tackling them. I would have liked to help with this project.
The entire world faces massive challenges, inflation, war, the accute climate crisis, massive social change. Germany is no different. However, Brexit adds another totally unecessary layer of complications and source for problems.
Now, I am tired of dismantling our lives here and saying our goodbyes. I am very much looking forward to the new challenges in Berlin and being able to construct something new.