THE New York Times, in a blistering piece on Chris Grayling, has just highlighted yet another reason for Scotland desiring independence.
As a result of being in the Union, we are represented on the world stage by UK Government ministers.
In fact, if the Scottish Tories got their way, Holyrood ministers wouldn't even be allowed to promote our country abroad at all.
WATCH: First Minister gave the perfect rebuttal to Tory attacks on foreign trips
This situation doesn't only refer to foreign trips, however – it's about reputation too.
The focus this week has fallen on UK Transport Secretary Chris Grayling, better known as "Failing Grayling".
His most recent mishap resulted in a whopping £33 million payment to Eurotunnel, after the hapless Grayling broke strict rules to award a Brexit ferry deal to a ferry company with no ferries.
Despite being a relatively minor minister, his incompetence has been so staggering that even in America they've had to take substantial notice.
"How Does He Survive? The Curious Case of 'Failing Grayling'," reads the headline of a new article from The New York Times.
And the piece, by Bejnamin Mueller, really is damning: "He has bumbled his way from one government post to another, accused of making a hash of each, and becoming a byword for haplessness in a golden age of political blundering in Britain."
They list of a variety of his errors and gaffes, including criticising a "Labour" appointment that was actually made by his own party leader, banning books in prisons, cutting lawyers' fees for criminal legal aid and so decimating the profession ... and more.
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They manage to pick out a silver lining though: "He is so bad at disguising his mistakes, and so tempting a target for the tabloids, that they say he has single-handedly forced the British public to pay attention to mundane problems like ferry shortages that otherwise may have gotten buried in the papers."
Perhaps most telling of all is that even with all this, the original article still underestimated just how shambolic his time in charge has been.
A correction reads: "Because of an editing error, an earlier version of this article misstated the amount that a Labour Party’s report claimed Chris Grayling misadventures had cost British taxpayers. It is 2.7 billion pounds, not 2.7 million."
Scotland may not have voted Tory, but we're still forced to have their incompetent ministers embarrassing a UK we're part of on the world stage.
Thankfully, many areas of transport policy are devolved to Scotland ... but that doesn't improve this situation much.
The only way we can be free of this incredible ineptitude, with collateral damage to our standing in the world, is by making sure Scotland's representatives are heard.
There is no better way to guarantee that, and to capitalise on the excellent reputation Scotland has, than independence.
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