By most accounts Sturgeon has had a good crisis. Five and a half years into her reign as leader of the Scottish National Party and First Minister, she is the most powerful woman in Britain. Her avowed aim, of course, is Scottish independence and step by stealthy step she is creeping closer to achieving it. A recent Panelbase poll put her personal rating at plus 60, while that of Boris Johnson – who is even less popular north of Hadrian’s Wall than Margaret Thatcher was – is at minus 39. [...]
Sturgeon’s admirers are barely able to conceal their glee. One senior SNP member of Scottish parliament who has known her for decades says, “we’ve been incredibly lucky to have her,” adding, “No one expected her to be quite so exceptional.” What has impressed him has been the forthright, uncompromising manner in which she has informed the public about what is expected of them. There has been no obfuscation, no false optimism, no dithering, no knee-jerk pandering to those clamouring for an early return to “normality”. People may not like what she has to say but in general they accept it as a prescription that must be followed. Yet, despite Sturgeon’s direct approach, Scotland has recorded 2,491 deaths from Covid-19 since March. [...]
A poll for the Wings Over Scotland website, a haven for the fundamentalist cohort, found that 26 per cent of voters would either “definitely or probably” give their list vote to the so-called “Alliance for Independence” party if it was fronted by Salmond. It is not a prospect that those in the upper echelons of the SNP relish. “The idea of splitting pro-independence votes is manna from heaven for the unionists,” says one former confidante. “He is feasting with panthers.” [...]
Where Salmond was “collegiate and would take advice from everyone”, observes Campbell Gunn, who has worked for both the former and current first ministers, Sturgeon relies on a small group for advice. The close circle includes Liz Lloyd, her chief of staff, and her husband. But other names are conspicuous by their absence. Gunn recalls that when he was working for Salmond and monitoring press coverage over the weekend they would be in constant communication. In contrast, Sturgeon is happy to delegate. “Call me if there’s something urgent,” she’d say. “Otherwise leave me alone.” Having said that, Gunn says of her: “If she achieves independence, she has her place in Scottish history. I thought Alex had done a remarkable job in transforming the SNP but Nicola has done even better.”
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