I was on the receiving end of Salmond’s ‘fierce temper’, says party’s ex spin king
A FORMER senior SNP adviser has warned the ‘psychodrama’ gripping the party over a split between Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon could threaten its future – as he revealed Mr Salmond has ‘a fierce temper.’
Kevin Pringle yesterday said the troubles between the once close allies could make the rift between Gordon Brown and Tony Blair look like a ‘minor spat’.
And he admitted it is ‘valid’ to speculate on whether the breakdown of a ‘partnership crucial to the success of the modern SNP’ could impact on the party and the Scottish Government.
He also discussed his own relationship with Mr Salmond, telling the Sunday Times he was ‘a hard taskmaster but drove himself hardest’.
Mr Pringle said: ‘As well as being driven he also has a fierce temper. I suspect the latter flows from the former.’
He spoke out in response to events last week, when former SNP leader Mr Salmond quit the party after being accused by two women of sexual misconduct while in office. First Minister Miss Sturgeon told Nationalist MPs and MSPs on Friday that the way they respond to the situation will ‘say a lot about who we are as a party’.
She also appeared to challenge Mr Salmond by telling them to ‘make sure that we are not making it harder for people to come forward’.
Mr Pringle was a long-serving senior special adviser to Mr Salmond when he was first minister, and director of strategic communications for the SNP under Miss Sturgeon.
His comments came as more SNP politicians donated to Mr Salmond’s online fundraising campaign, which has brought in £100,000 towards his legal challenge against the Scottish Govern- ment’s investigation into the allegations made against him.
Mr Pringle, now an independent public affairs consultant, said events have left many in the SNP ‘hurting’ – and most members ‘don’t want to pick and choose between Sturgeon and Salmond’.
He said: ‘Are we witnessing the start of a psychodrama between Salmond and Sturgeon – a partnership crucial to the success of the modern SNP – that will make the rift between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown look like a minor spat?
‘These are valid subjects for speculation, but they are secondary. The heart of the matter is complaints from two women alleging sexual harassment against the former first minister, and they must be dealt with without fear of favour. I’m confident they will be.
‘Equally, Salmond is innocent until proven guilty. As a private citizen with no office, he is entitled to challenge the process of how the civil service conducted its investigation if he genuinely believes, as he clearly does, that it breached the precepts of justice.’
‘Is this the start of a psychodrama?’