Will Humza Yousaf learn the right lessons? If he can govern more consensually and competently, he would serve all Scots better
is an election-winning machine. Ms Sturgeon, who had led the party since 2014, masterminded eight ballot-box wins in eight years. Under her and her predecessor, Alex Salmond, the cause of Scottish independence went from a fringe pursuit to the defining question of politics north of the border. But the past few weeks have seen the party’s reputation for discipline implode and the goal of statehood recede farther into the distance.
One is that an imperial leader will eventually become a problem. Ms Sturgeon dominated her party to such an extent that she stifled debate. In her resignation speech on February 15th, she acknowledged that her views warped those of others. A tight coterie ran things: her husband was the party’s chief executive until he resigned over revelations during the campaign that the’s membership was smaller than billed. Worse, she operated within a political set-up that imposed few constraints on her.
Another limitation is polarisation. Ms Sturgeon left office with a string of homilies about the need to practise a less confrontational form of politics, the equivalent of Logan Roy giving a sermon about forgiveness. On her watch the Scottish electorate bifurcated. According to polling for, support for, or opposition to, independence predicts Scots’ attitudes to pretty much everything else. This tribalism helped thewin all those elections.
Charisma, tribalism and taking back control can go a long way. They are the ingredients that brought about Brexit. But, as Brexit’s poisonous aftermath showed, they are also a recipe for gridlock and fragility. If Mr Yousaf can govern more consensually and competently, he would serve all Scots better. And although this newspaper does not share his goal of independence, he would also help the nationalist cause.
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