Politicians love to talk about ‘tough decisions’ — but when it comes to Scotland’s universities, the hardest choice seems to be doing anything at all says Peter MacMahon

Tough decisions. Two words we hear frequently from politicians in government who want us to know what they are faced with. Why do they keep mentioning it? Well, first because it often has the benefit of being true. Ministers are frequently faced with thorny issues, what academics call “wicked” problems, for which there is no right or easy answer, where they may end up just going with the least worst option. We, the public, need to accept that.

But there is also an element of virtue signalling in the ‘tough decisions’ narrative. Look at us, those in power are saying. Life’s not all ministerial cars, hosting grand dinners for foreign dignitaries and free football tickets, you know. Well, no, ministerial life is not much like that. It can be rather mundane, meeting-filed and bureaucratic. But to govern is to choose, and the least we can expect of our elected leaders who sought power is they get on with it, don’t complain, and make decisions to the best of their ability which voters can judge them on. They sometimes do.

But there is another phrase which those who report on politics frequently hear from politicians, almost always in private. Ask about a particularly tricky matter of policy and you get a pursing of the lips, a furrowed brow, possibly accompanied by a scratching of the chin. “Ah, the issue of (fill in desperately difficult policy here). Yes. Well of course there’s a need for change, of course logic and the potential benefits dictate we should do something but, erm, well,........

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