How ‘Mr Scotland’ lost his influence, and his protege
Alex Salmond was once a political giant, but now his allies, and Sturgeon, seem to have run out of patience
To say that Scotland’s political classes were in a state of shock last night would be an understatement, but there was something very matter of fact, almost too legalistic, about Nicola Sturgeon’s comments on the greatest crisis facing her long-time friend and mentor Alex Salmond.
She admitted that she’d always had a close relationship with her former boss and added that this sensational case involving two allegations of sexual assault against the former first minister would prove a difficult time for her and her party. There was very little – if any – mention of how he felt.
Instead, in her official statement she said: “Alex Salmond is now challenging the Scottish Government’s procedure in court. The Scottish Government refutes his criticisms of its process and will defend its position vigorously.”
It was sentiments such as this that prompted the increasingly widespread view that a long-time friendship and a political alliance forged in tough times may well be coming to an end.
Bizarrely, however, Salmond seemed to lay all the blame for his predicament on Scotland’s senior civil servant, Leslie Evans, when Sturgeon championed the sexual harassment procedure that led to the allegations against him being investigated.
The pair have been locked together as political partners since the dawn of devolution with then party leader Salmond recognising the “bonnie fechter” qualities in the Ayrshire lass – making her his health spokesman and encouraging her rise through the SNP’S ranks until she became first his deputy, and ultimately his successor.
But after so many years together in the trenches it is an irony lost on few that it has been procedural changes on sexual harassment, championed by Sturgeon, that Salmond is fighting in Scotland’s highest courts and which he says have treated him unfairly.
There is no doubt that after succeeding him as First Minister in 2014, Sturgeon has shown herself to be at first irritated but increasingly infuriated by the man who taught her all about politics but whose career has nosedived to a remarkable and embarrassing extent in recent years.
There is no doubt that Salmond lost more than a referendum on independence – the cause to which he’d devoted most of his life – on Sept 18 2014; he lost what amounted to an empire. It might have been a tiny realm but as “Mr Scotland” Salmond was determined to punch above his weight on the world stage. Sadly for him that loss four years ago meant that he never did find the other meaningful role that he was sure he deserved.
For this talented but egotistical man, his career as a politician of the first rank began to descend first into political impotence when he lost his power, limousine and grace and favour residence as Scotland’s first minister. He quit Holyrood and a year later became just another backbench MP at Westminster – the parliament he’s always preferred to Holyrood. Even as a Privy Counsellor he had none of the clout he enjoyed as first minister. He could dispense advice but little else in the Commons although he gathered around himself a coterie of admirers among younger MPS, including Tasmina Ahmed-sheik, with whom he is said to have struck up a close friendship and who produced his one-man show at last year’s Edinburgh Fringe festival.
But even that life disappeared when he lost his Gordon seat to a hated Tory in 2017. Bitter all-round criticism and near-farce followed with his insistence on presenting a television show for Vladimir Putin’s “Russia Today” channel. Now he faces possible humiliation and public disgrace thanks to allegations of sexual assaults on two members of staff. He firmly denies any wrongdoing and is seeking a judicial review of the procedure used to investigate the allegations by the Scottish Government.
If we rewind 11 years Salmond’s sensational Scottish election victory in 2007, albeit by one vote over Labour, wasn’t the culmination of his dreams of political power, it was merely a step on the road to his ultimate aim – the break-up of Britain and the creation of an independent Scotland.
His time as first minister was a truly breathtaking period. It wasn’t quite a case of “let the good times roll” but this larger than life politician wasted no time on stamping his individual mark in the country he loved and led.
The votes had hardly been counted before Salmond ordered in the workmen, with ladders, hammers and screwdrivers, to change the signage on all public buildings so that henceforth the devolved administration would be known as “Scottish Government” and not the “Scottish Executive” name bequeathed to it by Tony Blair and Donald Dewar. Ironically it is the same body he christened that he’s now challenging in the Scottish courts.
The seven years of Salmond’s reign were heady days, indeed. His expansive personality suited perfectly the celebrations that initially attended the never-ending successes of the Edinburgh financial services sector and the businesses he was most proud of – the Royal Bank of Scotland and Bank of Scotland, both major world-players and both headquartered in Scotland.
He was nothing short of a cheerleader for their expansionist aims, controversially urging RBS boss Fred Goodwin on in one especially ill-fated takeover. As he travelled the world he sang the praises of Scotland’s financial acumen, always insisting on staying in the best hotels.
His outgoing demeanour was in marked contrast to the low-key, almost dowdy, bearing of his Labour predecessors. If the world began to take a greater notice of Scotland, Salmond deserved the credit.
It wasn’t all plain sailing, of course, and his government had to endure the horrors and painful public spending cutbacks caused by the financial crash and the losses suffered by the Scottish banks were an incredible body blow.
There’s little doubt that the 2011 Scottish election was his high point. He won a stunning victory crushing all before him and paving the way for the 2014 independence referendum that he was sure he’d win.
His was effectively a one-man show, even if he was ably assisted by the increasingly ambitious Sturgeon, who kept their policy and tactical disagreements largely under wraps.
Salmond worked his staff hard, extremely hard. They knew there was only one way to do things – Alex’s way – which meant that after-hours sessions at Bute House, his official residence, were commonplace.
But it wasn’t all work; party-time was never far off and would see late-night pizzas washed down with beer and red wine. When he became first minister Moira, his wife of 37 years, oversaw the redecoration of Bute House and stayed there regularly. But latterly she began to spend most of the week at their converted millhouse in Strichen, Aberdeenshire.
The referendum defeat proved a bitter pill to swallow. He had convinced himself that he’d win and although he was determined, he said, “that the dream (of independence) will not die”, he cut a forlorn figure at that Bute House press conference as he stepped down as first minister, making way for Ms Sturgeon.
Did she push him or did he jump? I’m still not sure.
Salmond publicly, and annoyingly for Sturgeon, began to disagree with the new First Minister, especially with his shrill calls for another referendum on the back of the 2015 UK election when the nationalists won every Scottish seat except three. In spite of that triumph, Sturgeon knew that another referendum victory was nothing like a sure thing.
On a personal level and because of his widespread popularity with the SNP rank and file, Sturgeon held back from being over critical of the man who was still her friend. However, she was always said to have disliked the boorish side of his personality, never more so than his appalling Fringe “joke” last year when he told his audience: “I promised you today we’d either have Theresa May or Nicola Sturgeon or Ruth Davidson or Melania Trump, but I couldn’t make any of these wonderful women come...” After an onstage band hit a “da-dum” on the drums, he added “...to the show.”
Few people laughed, certainly not Sturgeon, who had by this time instituted a gender equality policy within her cabinet and appointed a woman as permanent secretary and head of the Scottish civil service. More significantly, perhaps, she championed the strict code of conduct for workers at Holyrood and the civil service regarding sexual harassment which seems to have led to the allegations against Salmond and which he claims had not treated him fairly.
A circular sent to everyone – staff, politicians, media – urged them to report allegations of sexual harassment and First Minister Sturgeon tweeted as “appalling” that 200 sexual harassment or sexual behaviour cases had been reported.
That was in November last year; the allegations against Salmond emerged two months later.
‘[They] have been locked together as political partners... with Salmond recognising [Sturgeon’s] “bonnie fechter” qualities’
‘Few people laughed, certainly not Sturgeon, who had by this time instituted a gender equality policy within her cabinet’