Scotland’s First Minister is due to appear at the Winter Nights Festival, put together by the Irish Times. During the event she is due to discuss Scottish independence as well as Brexit and the current state of the United Kingdom as a union.
The SNP leader will be joined by other senior political figures including Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin and European Commissioner Mairead McGuiness.
However, critics took to social media to hit out at the news, with many claiming other countries on the international stage would not be “interested” in the Scottish independence movement.
One claimed: “No-one abroad is remotely interested.”
Another said: “They have rather more important things to think about right now.”
One user said: “True – quite a lot of the media are now watching Sturgeon and the SNP. But not because of interest in the tedious grievo-politics aimed at breaking up the UK.”
Some others hit back, with one writing: “You might be wrong. My sisters in the Netherlands are watching the move to independence with much interest. They are not the only ones.”
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Speaking to The National, he said of Nicola Sturgeon’s appearance at the Winter Nights Festival: “It is important for us to hear Scotland’s distinct position on life post-Brexit and how those bilateral ties can be maintained, even strengthened, post-Brexit.
“The First Minister’s recent opinion piece in the Irish Times was received very well.
“We in Ireland and indeed across the EU are fascinated by the internal politics in Scotland, especially following the Brexit process.”
Meanwhile SNP MP Alyn Smith has said within the EU there is an “awareness” that “Scotland is different in our attitude to the EU than the UK”.
In the past year polls have revealed that support for Scottish secession from the UK has grown.
The latest YouGov poll on the matter conducted in November found that 51 percent of 1,089 Scots polled would vote ‘Yes’ in a referendum – down slightly from the 53 percent that said the same in August.
YouGov also said Ms Sturgeon’s SNP is “well ahead” in the polls ahead of the upcoming Scottish Parliament elections.
Keir Starmer, leader of the Labour Party, has come out recently in opposition of a Scottish independence referendum.
He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: “I don’t think a referendum is the right way forward. But I do accept that the status quo isn’t working.”
