ORF-E | 2020
1 x 30 min
English
Worldwide

The majority of Scots voted against Brexit, and many feel increasingly alienated from the government in London. Nowhere else is Prime Minister Boris Johnson so unpopular, and nowhere else is the criticism of his coronavirus policy so strong. In the north of the United Kingdom, it’s not just the weather that’s different; there’s also a very different political climate than in the rest of the country. “This is the first time in history that the polls have shown a steady majority in favor of Scottish independence over a long period of time”, says John Curtice. The political scientist is considered the most important pollster in the country and correctly predicted the last four lower house elections. British reporter Benedict Feichtner drove across the Highlands for Worldjournal. In Sterling, he meets the flute maker, George Ormiston, who comes from one of the oldest families in Scotland and has been fighting for independence since his youth. In the northwest, he visits whiskey distillers who once withdrew to the most inaccessible regions to hide from the English tax collectors. Now, like the clear majority of Scots, they want to return to the EU through independence. But can that work?