For a decade, they have been the indivisible duo that has driven the pursuit of Scotland’s independence, managing their party – and themselves – at the helm of affairs.
But in politics there are few friendships forever, and those of Scotland’s Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon and her predecessor and mentor, Alex Salmond, have not aged well – to the point that breaking them down now threatens the independence movement, just when the prospects seemed the brightest. .
The two giants of the Scottish National Party have been embroiled in a bitter dispute over the handling of accusations against Mr. Salmond, who walked out in 2020 when he was tried on more than a dozen charges of sexual assault and found not guilty on all counts.
So cruel is the rift that some believe the fate of Scotland’s 314-year-old union with England could be based on a dispute over what Ms. Sturgeon knew about the accusations and whether she was telling the truth.
“For the SNP, it’s very serious,” said James Mitchell, a professor of public policy at the University of Edinburgh, who pointed to the Scottish Parliamentary election in May. Sturgeon on gains in justifying demands for a second Scottish independence referendum. .
“This has happened at the point where the SNP will achieve good election results and when support for independence is at its highest,” Professor Mitchell said. “In such circumstances, you would expect the party to unite, when in decades it was no longer so connected.”
The case is so explosive because Mr. Salmond says me. Sturgeon misled Scottish lawmakers about her role and did not give a truthful account of how she handled the allegations against him. If this is true, it could lead to her resignation.
Me. Sturgeon denies the allegations, saying those close to her former friend and mentor devise conspiracy theories while making conflicting claims against her.
But like all the worst arguments, this one is personal.
Mr. Salmond feels his reputation has been destroyed by the accusations against him, which date from his time as prime minister before 2014, and include one charge of attempted rape.
Some of his supporters believe Mrs. Sturgeon simply threw himself at the wolves during an internal investigation of him in 2018 (long before the police were involved), in her zeal to show no tolerance for sexual harassment.
Others believe she wants to actively eliminate him to prevent his return to politics as a potential competitor.
Ruth Davidson, the leader of the Scottish Conservatives, spoke of a “cover-up in the heart of the government”, and the dispute wound up Peter Murrell, the SNP chief executive, who is also married to Ms. Sturgeon.
With two separate investigations underway – amid allegations that evidence is being suppressed and a legal battle over press freedom – the confusing complexity and endless twists and turns of the case have so far had no significant impact on public opinion, according to John Curtice, a voting expert and professor of politics at the University of Strathclyde.
According to the allegations of a conspiracy, “the tail was not pinned to the donkey”, he said.
However, he also noted that support for independence has stagnated in recent weeks. “It has long been obvious that the SNP itself is the most serious risk for the SNP to be successful in the May election,” Professor Curtice said.
This is partly because the infighting divided the SNP into warring camps and exposed other divisions within a party that was once known for iron-fisted unity – for example, about how patient it was to be in the search for a second referendum on independence.
In a reform this month, Joanna Cherry, a sincere lawmaker in the British Parliament, was stripped of her role as Home Affairs and Justice spokeswoman, in what many saw as a fraction of Ms’ critics. Sturgeon.
Me. Sturgeon’s critics also include Jim Sillars, a veteran of the independence movement who agrees with Mr. Salmond clashed, but now sees his successor as the problem.
“The mentality at the highest point of the SNP is rather like the divine right of kings: they think that no one can touch them,” said Mr. Sillars said.
“This fate has been in power for 14 years, they have enjoyed the elixir of power, they do not want to give it up,” he added. “They thought Salmond was a threat and therefore decided to file him.”
Things went well for me. Sturgeon after a poll of opinion polls showed that a majority of Scots prefer independence. Her approval ratings in Scotland are much higher than those of Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain, whose upper class English ways tend to skate with the Scots.
And although the coronavirus crisis in Scotland was just as severe as in England, Ms. Sturgeon’s serious manner and polished presentation won her honors in contrast to Johnson’s humbling persona, especially in the early stages of the pandemic.
Many of the skills of Ms. Sturgeon was taught by Mr. Salmond, a hard, formidable, sometimes sharp debater, who twice from 1990 to 2000 and from 2004 to 2014 led the SNP.
After constitutional changes re-established a Scottish Parliament in 1999, Mr. Salmond oversaw the transformation of the SNP from a powerless company of lawmakers in Westminster to the dominant political power in Edinburgh.
Scottish nationalism was redesigned as progressive and inclusive, and the party tilted somewhat to the left and favored European integration, which it was once opposed to, and welcomed immigrants from the bloc.
Mr. Salmond has the talent of me for the first time. Sturgeon was spotted when she was a student; as she once put it, ‘he believed in me long before I believed in myself.’
In 2004, Mr. Salmond advised her not to fight a leadership battle, he was convinced she would lose, and instead returned to the top post with me. Sturgeon as his deputy.
Me. Sturgeon’s next opportunity came in 2014, after the Scots rejected independence in a referendum, which led to Salmond resigning as prime minister and SNP leader. By that time, Ms. Sturgeon established her as his inevitable successor.
But tensions between the new leader and her predecessor increased after he won re-election to the British Parliament in 2015.
They also did not calm down when Mr. Salmond lost his seat again in the 2017 general election and found new ways to attract attention, with a one-man show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and a TV chat show presented on RT, the network formerly known as Russia Today.
“He could not leave, and she would not find him a role,” Professor Mitchell said. “She’s a control freak in the way she’s holding the party, just the way he was. They are too similar; there would always be a problem. ‘
How big that problem will turn out to be remains to be seen. Professor Curtice thinks it is likely that Ms. Sturgeon will drive out the storm and resist any calls for resignation. Given her strong handling of the coronavirus pandemic, she would probably be able to survive even if she were violated by ministerial rules.
But Professor Mitchell thinks so. Sturgeon could be severely damaged by the feud with Mr. Salmond, who is beginning to change public perception.
‘Things are starting to move in Scotland,’ said Professor Mitchell, referring to increasing research into Ms Sturgeon’s version of events. He said that Mr. Salmond “was the villain of the play, but now people are asking questions.”
What mr. As far as Salmond is concerned, he may be politically finished, but he is on the verge of restoring his reputation, and that makes him a dangerous enemy, Professor Mitchell said.
“The problem for her,” Professor Mitchell said, “is that he has nothing to lose.”