HE was perhaps the biggest voice of the intellectual world opposing Scottish independence. Now writer Mario Vargas Llosa believes what he has always called "separation" is likely.
The Nobel Prize winner has declared that Brexit will result, simply, "in the disappearance of Great Britain".
"The most probable outcome is that Scotland - sooner or later - will separate," he said at an Madrid forum organised by his think tank, the International Foundation for Liberty. And Northern Ireland too, he added. Because "it is the great beneficiary of EU integration".
READ MORE: Mario Vargas Llosa losing the plot over Scottish nationalism
Peruvian-born Vargas Llosa - who used to live in Britain and now stays in Spain- has been a vocal and sometimes vitriolic opponent of independence movements across Europe, including Catalonia's.
The now 83-year-old welcomed the No victory in the 2014 referendum in an editorial in El País which many saw as an eloquent articulation of the instinctive unionism of some European internationalists.
Back in 2014, Mr Vargas Llosa wrote: "I lived in Britain for many years and it still seems to me to be the most civilised and democratic country in the world. I was conviced that the disappearance of this nation of four nations would be a disaster not just for England and Scotland but for all Europe, where it would encourage the separatists mushrooming across the continent."
Earlier still, in a 2012 interview with The Herald, Mr Vargas Llosa had railed against Scottish independence, warning of tribal appeals.
"The basic idea of nationalism is wrong," he said. "The idea that to be born in a given place is a value in itself is ridiculous. Totally ridiculous! Now the Scots want to be independent. That would be very sad. I don't think Scotland is going to be privileged by independence. On the contrary, this is not the march of time – the march of time is for the dissolution of frontiers, integration, common denominators."
READ MORE: Vargas Llosa: Nationalism has produced the most brutal and cruel wars in history'
Scroll forward five years and Mr Vargas Llosa struck a different note. According to Europa Press, he believes Brexit is a terrible mistake but hopes for further delays. Brexit, he said, was "a tragedy for Britain and for Europe".
There is a lesson to learn from Brexit, he said. "These accidents can take place in the most advanced nations on the planet, in an examplary democracy." Mr Vargas Llosa, however, reserved his toughest words for Tory leadership front-runner Boris Johnson. If Mr Johnson wins, his party will "undergo an even bigger disaster" than Brexit.
READ MORE: Mario Vargas Llosa losing the plot over Scottish nationalism
Mr Llosa Varga, a former Peruvian presidential candidate knows Scotland and Ireland well. His novel, The Dream Of The Celt, is a fictionalised biography of the Irish-born diplomat, poet and revolutionary Roger Casement, who remains one of Ireland's most contentious national heroes and who was executed for treason in 1916. "A tragic hero, a great fighter against the false mythology of colonisation," the writer said.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel