Think again

After months of attempting to portray Humza Yousaf as weak and indecisive, when the First Minister does take strong and decisive action by ending the Bute House Agreement, Douglas Ross and his duplicitous co-conspirator, Anas Sarwar, attempt to hypocritically spin this action as evidence of weakness and indecisiveness. Perhaps, given their wild reactions, Patrick Harvie and Lorna Slater had been duped by the misleading opposition rhetoric.

Like turkeys voting for Christmas, the Scottish Greens voting to push Yousaf to stepdown as First Minister could be sealing their own fate in terms of influencing future Scottish Government policies.

Both Green ministers in government appeared to have good intentions but seemed rather naïve and attempting to run before they had learned to walk. The assessment of naïveté turned to apparent political cluelessness when Harvie and Slater seemed shocked on learning that Yousaf had decided to end the Bute House Agreement after Harvie and Slater had endorsed party members voting on its continuation, rather than insisting that their party stick with it until the end of the parliamentary term.

If Yousaf is compelled to come to an agreement with Ash Regan, do Green MSPS think that green policies will be advanced more than if they decide to abstain on a confidence motion? Should Yousaf step down as First Minister and be replaced by Kate Forbes do they think that green policies will be advanced more than if Yousaf continues as First Minister? If a Scottish election is now called do they think green policies will be advanced more under a new government than by continuing to work with, but outside, Yousaf ’s government?

Perhaps once personal emotional reactions have subsided and Green MSPS come to terms with realpolitik common sense will prevail. If not, Scotland will probably be less likely to make the progress towards net zero that most Scottish Green Party members desire.

Stan Grodynski Longniddry, East Lothian