Although the media can’t get enough of Nicola Sturgeon she’s not even a candidate in the General Election, in two weeks time. Yes, you heard that right, she’s not standing, but Alex Salmond is and he will be the leader of the Scottish National Party’s Westminster MPs.  There will be about 50 or so of them if the polls are to be believed. “I’m the leader of the SNP, I’ll be in charge of any decisions and negotiations and anything that happens after May 7” says Sturgeon. But she won’t be in Westminster, so Salmond, who will, must inevitably play a key role after the vote. Why then have we heard nothing from him for weeks? Have they calculated that Sturgeon won’t provoke the ire of the media in the same way Salmond might?  Alex Salmond is one of the brightest and effective politicians that the UK has seen.  Whatever the reason for his absence from the stage, you can guarantee it’s no accident.