You’ve got a good face for radio, Alex!
He gets own show – but listeners take to Twitter to mock Salmond
HE is so fond of his own voice that he often exasperates SNP chiefs by refusing to hold his tongue when placed in front of a microphone.
So it comes as no surprise that radio bosses have handed Alex Salmond his own weekly talk show, in which no subject will be off limits.
But not everyone is delighted at the prospect of more Salmond on air, as even his new employers acknowledge, and would-be listeners mocked everything from his vanity to his eyebrows.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon may also have to hide behind the sofa as her predecessor is allowed to wax lyrical on London’s main independent radio station LBC. The former First Minister will broadcast once a week from the English capital in a move that will further boost his lucrative earnings – unlike fellow host Boris Johnson and previous presenter Nick Clegg, he will claim a fat fee.
In a promotional video for his show, he was subjected to a number of ‘mean tweets’ about himself, posted on Twitter.
To an accusation that he has ‘Fuzzy-Felt eyebrows’, Mr Salmond offered no defence.
Poking fun at his vanity, another critic tweeted: ‘Who would pay £51,000 for a portrait of Alex Salmond? I can think of only one person.’ The ex-First Minister responded: ‘It was £51,500 and I’ve got lots of relatives.’
Another non-fan complained: ‘Wish I had a device that instantly zaps all sound from the radio whenever Alex Salmond’s irritating voice is heard.’ To which Mr Salmond hit back: ‘It’s called the off switch, dummy.’
He has vowed to ‘shoot straight from the hip’ when broadcasting, and listeners will be able to call, text, email or tweet him during the show, on air between 4pm and 4.30pm on Wednesdays.
Scots in his Gordon constituency and anywhere outwith London will be denied the pleasure of his dulcet tones unless they tune in via the internet or digital radio, but Mr Salmond said: ‘I am looking forward to discussing the issues and taking calls from every corner of these islands.’
The ex-SNP leader already earns the equivalent of £108,000 a year from newspaper publisher DC Thomson for articles and interviews, and has also made tens of thousands of pounds from his widely mocked memoir, The Dream Shall Never Die.
All the cash is paid to Mr Salmond’s personal publishing company, Chronicles of Deer, and supplements his Westminster salary of £74,000, although SNP politicians have been instructed
Who’d pay £51k for a Salmond portrait? Only one person
I want a device that zaps all sound when he’s on
Alex Salmond? He’s got Fuzzy-Felt eyebrows ‘Minders trapped on wrong side of glass’
to hand a recent controversial £7,000 pay rise for MPs to charity.
On top of this, Mr Salmond has his First Ministerial pension and remains MSP for Aberdeenshire East until May’s Holyrood election, entitling him to a further £19,700, which is handed to the Mary Salmond Trust, a charity working in the North-East.
Scottish Conservative deputy leader Jackson Carlaw said: ‘Despite complaining repeatedly about austerity Britain, it seems Mr Salmond now wants to sup- plement his income with a talkshow. And with his pledge to shoot from the hip, Nicola Sturgeon will be listening from behind the sofa in fear of what embarrassment her predecessor can now cause.’
Lib Dem MSP Tavish Scott said: ‘Since standing down as First Minister, Alex Salmond has pursued a vendetta against the BBC, snuggled up to the Ayatollahs in Iran and unveiled portraits of himself instead of attending debates in the Commons on Syria.
‘The last thing Nicola Sturgeon will want is for him to be given free rein for his increasingly bizarre pronouncements while his SNP minders are trapped on the wrong side of the glass outside of the studio.’
But Miss Sturgeon said she might like to be a surprise caller: ‘I’m sure if he invites me I’ll consider it. I might surprise him one day – Nicola from Glasgow?’
A spokesman for Mr Salmond said the contract was ‘still being finalised’ and all earnings would eventually be declared.