- Written by Chris Mason
- Edinburgh Political Editor
Humza Yousaf has one moment in his short tenure as Scotland’s First Minister that he will never forget.
Despite all the choreography and polish that many senior politicians have put into it, circumstances can create a scenario where it all means little and even less.
Last October I was in a hotel in Glasgow overlooking the River Clyde.
But here was a man in pain and exhaustion, busy answering phone calls from his wife and family between interviews.
His in-laws were trapped in Gaza. He was having trouble keeping it together.
Fortunately, they were able to escape safely. Personal suffering will end.
Politically, however, things were not difficult for Humza Yousaf.
He came to power with time bombs ticking everywhere. And out loud.
First, there is the unavoidable political logic of the Scottish National Party’s immense power.
They have been running the Scottish Government since 2007. Aging is inevitable, and political parties are no exception.
It has now become a situation in which the path to another independence referendum appears to be fading, particularly in the short and medium term.
The indyref2 outlook was, shorthand, the glue that helped hold the SNPs together. And guess what happens when the glue loosens.
The whole incident is a rumbling, nightmarish backdrop for Yousaf.
And here the crux of this situation comes to mind.
As a result of the long-term regime, relations among some Scottish nationalists have broken down.
Humza Yousaf concluded over the weekend that there was no agreement with the Green Party and that the Greens would vote to remove him.
Crucially, he also concluded he had no intention of doing a deal with Alba, which was led by his predecessor Alex Salmond.
Not because the deal he was offered was necessarily one he completely disliked, but because it was ultimately his.
Yes, it’s the same Mr Salmond who led the SNP and led Scotland to an independence referendum in 2014. He was acquitted in a high-profile trial of sexually assaulting nine women when he was Scotland’s first minister, and had a bitter falling out with Nicola. Sturgeon.
The depth of that hostility, the reality of that rift, we see today as a result.
So Yusaf realized the numbers didn’t add up. He’s already finished.
And he concluded that it was better to voluntarily admit it and resign than to be humiliated by arithmetic within a few days.
