The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
FM clocks record time in the job
Nicola Sturgeon has been at the head of the Scottish Government for a record length of time during which the daily running of schools, hospitals and public spending competed with Brexit and campaigns for independence.
The veteran SNP leader passes her predecessor Alex Salmond’s term as first minister today, reaching a record 2,743 days in office.
Along the way, she has had to deal with some major crises and accusations her eye has been “off the ball” on major domestic policies.
Here are seven of the key challenges the first minister has faced since taking the top job.
1. THE COVID CRISIS
Ms Sturgeon faced by far the biggest challenge of her career when the Covid pandemic struck in 2020.
As virus cases soared she began holding daily briefings alongside health experts to update the country on the crisis.
The first minister (FM) won praise for her clear communication style, which led many Scots to say she had done a better job than Boris Johnson.
But not all government decisions during the pandemic were a success.
While the virus spread rapidly, vulnerable hospital patients were transferred back to care homes without being tested.
As a result, Covid spread through elderly nursing home residents and thousands died.
Now she faces an inquiry at which all those decisions will be put back to her and the wider government.
2. THE ALEX SALMOND BREAK-UP
When Ms Sturgeon became FM in 2014, she aimed to complete her former mentor’s legacy by achieving independence.
Little did she know that a bitter fallout between the pair would leave her career in the balance.
Ms Sturgeon faced claims she misled parliament about when she found out her old boss was accused of inappropriate behaviour.
Mr Salmond was cleared of multiple sexual assault charges in court – and the government botched its own probe into the allegations.
An independent investigation could not say that Ms Sturgeon had deliberately lied to MSPs.
Claiming there was a conspiracy against him within the SNP, Mr Salmond launched his new Alba Party.
After surviving with her career intact, Ms Sturgeon has staved off the threat from the ex-first minister at the ballot box with pro-indy voters staying loyal.
3. PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES... AND FERRIES
Transport has been a major problem for the government under Ms Sturgeon.
Prestwick Airport is still on the books under her leadership with no buyer in sight after 10 years.
Dutch firm Abellio was stripped of their ScotRail contract after repeated failings, as trains came under public ownership.
But already services are being temporarily slashed across the country due to a row over pay – weeks after she hailed the newly-nationalised structure.
Island communities have been without reliable ferries and forced to count the cost of the Ferguson Marine fiasco.
The SNP awarded the shipbuilding firm a contract to build two new ferries in 2015 but both remain uncompleted.
Former independence supporter and ex-Ferguson’s boss Jim McColl claimed the deal was only passed for political gain.
That professional relationship appears doomed.
On roads, plans to dual main arteries between cities became congested after the SNP-Green government deal.
Plans from more than a decade ago to fully dual the A96 between Aberdeen and Inverness remain unfulfilled.
There are also questions about the completion of the A9 between Perth and Inverness.
4. DRUG DEATHS AND TALKING SHOPS
Scotland has endured record numbers of drug deaths in recent years.
Rates in 2020 were threeand-a-half times higher than the rest of the UK, with the crisis declared a public emergency.
Dundee City West SNP MSP Joe FitzPatrick was forced to quit as public health minister just under two years ago as fury mounted over the fatalities.
The FM has repeatedly branded the figures in Scotland unacceptable and says more must be done to bring them down.
Recently-released data shows the number of deaths declining north of the border for the first time in several years.
Signs of recovery after the first minister finally intervened?
5. EDUCATION ‘MISSION’
Years ago, she declared that ridding education of inequality was her own “personal defining mission”.
The first minister said she wanted to be judged by how her government performed on schooling.
But just last week the SNP dropped a pledge to close the educational attainment gap by 2026 after it had previously widened again.
The government was also slated for marking down the results of poorer students when no formal exams were held in 2020.
New education secretary Shirley Anne-Sommerville plans to replace the underfire SQA, despite the SNP previously defending the exam board.
6. NHS HEALTH CHECK
While the SNP regularly criticise the Tories for their handling of the NHS, things have been far from perfect in Scotland.
A&E waiting times have soared since the pandemic, while major hospitals have been dogged by scandals.
The opening of a children’s hospital in Edinburgh was delayed by more than a year.
Millions were spent at Glasgow’s Queen Elizabeth University Hospital to stop water-borne infections.
Breast cancer services in NHS Tayside are in crisis while further north there are fears it could take up to a decade for Moray’s maternity unit to return.
7. WINNING THE POPULARITY CONTEST
At the ballot box it’s been a story of near constant success for Ms Sturgeon.
Her leadership got off to the best possible start imaginable when the SNP achieved record results at the 2015 UK election.
The nationalists snapped up 56 out of 59 seats, decimating Labour’s stronghold on the country. Since then the SNP have won two more Holyrood elections and they were the biggest party in the local council vote.
Yet despite all of this, she is arguably no closer to her coveted goal – independence.
The FM argues she has a mandate to hold a referendum following her success in the 2021 Holyrood vote, so the UK Government should let it happen, but the Tories insist they will block any attempt at a rerun of the 2014 ballot.
Exactly how long Ms Sturgeon will remain in power is hard to guess, but she will be desperate to secure a second referendum to cement her legacy.