Humza Yousaf’s tenure as Scotland’s first minister was short-lived, ending abruptly on Monday following the disintegration of his governing alliance with the Scottish Greens. To some of Yousaf’s adversaries, however, his downfall was expected.
Yousaf assumed power last spring by edging out a victory in a fiercely competitive Scottish National Party (SNP) leadership race. His party rivals didn’t hide their scepticism of his political adeptness. On Monday, as he delivered his emotional farewell speech from his official residence, perhaps glimpsing the wreckage of his political journey, their reservations appeared somewhat justified. Yousaf’s charm could not compensate for what he seemingly lacked.
“He was devoid of real strength,” one of his less gracious opponents commented on Monday morning as political pundits across Scotland tried to understand how the former first minister let everything unravel.
Yousaf also missed the mark in his predictive ability. He grossly miscalculated the Scottish Greens’ reaction when he terminated their government partnership agreement with the SNP just days ago. A mere 48 hours before that, he had acclaimed the pact as “worth its weight in gold,” rebuffing his own party members’ concerns about leaning too far to the left politically.
His unexpected decision to fire two Green ministers last week and declare that the SNP would proceed independently as a minority government was meant to project strength but instead exposed his weakness.
His critics argue that Yousaf failed to anticipate the Greens’ determination for payback, which they branded as his political “cowardice”. From the moment the Greens threatened to back a no-confidence vote against Yousaf, the future of the newly appointed minority leader appeared doomed.
Numerous patriotic detractors of Yousaf think he was right to abandon the Greens. They opine that he should have done so in a less harsh manner and possibly only once he had obtained additional backing from an alternative source, for example, the Alba Party led by Alex Salmond.
Nevertheless, Yousaf proceeded to terminate the SNP’s Green agreement singlehandedly. Ultimately, it was he who faced the consequences. Currently, the SNP might pivot promptly to rally behind a unifying contender in order to mend the party’s internal divisions.