The National:

IT was refreshing to hear the UK’s Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng declare on Sky News this morning that whether a second independence referendum should happen should be decided by people in Scotland. Not because this is a mad position to hold, but because this simple assumption is still dividing politicians who think independence is a terrible idea.

“I’ve always thought that the issue of Scottish independence is something for the people in Scotland”, he said without flinching. “I do remember in 2014 that they said that the referendum would settle the issue for 25 years, for a generation. I’m surprised at how often it’s come back. But it’s up to the Scottish people to decide when and whether they want a referendum.”

The National:

I am surprised that Mr Kwarteng is surprised that the debate about Scotland’s self-determination hasn’t faded: where has he been over the past five years? However, he has a point: you can oppose independence, even dislike the fact that it is taking up so much time and space in the political debate in Scotland. But, in the end, if there is a democratic event, such as the Holyrood elections in May, in which pro-independence parties do very well on a platform promising another referendum, then what possible justification is there to just refuse it ad vitam aeternam?

This behaviour is reminiscent of precisely what German poet Bertolt Brecht derided in his satirical poem Die Lösung (The Solution): “The people had forfeited the confidence of the government and could win it back only by redoubled efforts. Would it not in that case be simpler for the government to dissolve the people and elect another?”

READ MORE: Independence: Tory minister says a new referendum 'up to the Scottish people'

There seems to be a slow and reluctant shift, in the Conservative Party and the UK Government, of attitudes regarding a second vote on independence, driven by the realistic prospect of the SNP winning a comfortable majority in the next Scottish Parliament elections. As this widely shared opinion piece in The Times explains, everything indicates that the Prime Minister is coming to the realisation that a strategy of confrontation is unlikely to bear fruits.

Quite the contrary: It antagonises the Scottish electorate and gives easy arguments of being anti-democratic to the SNP. I personally wouldn’t be surprised, provided the SNP does indeed win a majority, if Boris Johnson said: "I dare you, let’s do this referendum, now start your engines and may the best campaign win."

The National:

The SNP will then need to be ready, with a strong and compelling case for independence that will appeal to voters from all walks of life who are crying out for change. Polls might be showing a sustained support for independence, but there is no guarantee this will hold the test of time and campaigning if the final proposition fails to inspire the citizens of Scotland.

That reminds me of what former French socialist MP Julien Dray told the Socialist Party’s leadership before the 2012 presidential election, worrying they were heading for a fourth election defeat: Opposition to Nicolas Sarkozy (the former president who got a prison sentence yesterday for offering a bribe to a judge) is not and cannot be a programme for the country.

READ MORE: Richard Murphy: Everything you've been told about Scotland and national debt is wrong

That could be said of the current socialist leadership, still severely bruised after the 2017 presidential election, and, in all fairness, of the SNP too. Many ordinary citizens agree with the general principle of independence, but would struggle to clearly articulate what independence is for, concretely. I am one of these citizens. Surely that needs to be addressed sooner than later.