‘Can I just shock you? I like wine, despite what I said earlier.’ That was Alan Partridge as he grovelled to keep his job the BBC, willing to do or say anything to make it happen. What has that got to do with Scottish politics you may ask? Replace the word ‘wine’ with ‘continuity’ and the words could describe what is happening at Holyrood right now.
It would be grossly unfair to compare Kate Forbes bouncing back into the political fray following the First Minister’s reshuffle to the tactless fictional broadcaster from Norwich. Saying that, it would be a lot kinder than many column inches and tweets directed at her in recent weeks.
Forbes didn’t need to grovel for a post; she could name her price from John Swinney in order to prevent another fractious leadership contest, one which the party could ill afford in more ways than one.
When she previously battled Humza Yousaf for the top job, she declared ‘continuity won’t cut it’ (expect to hear that quote repeated, ad nauseum, by the opposition). Fast forward a year, it turns out continuity can cut it…when the continuity-continuity candidate appoints a continuity cabinet with you in it.
The ‘reshuffle’ from First Minister John Swinney, an ever-present in the governments of Salmond and Sturgeon, can barely be described as such. The shuffling of the pack amounted to one change: Kate Forbes becomes Deputy First Minister with the Economy portfolio. Everyone else remains in place.
Unsurprisingly, the Scottish Greens aren’t happy, noting their ‘concerns’ about the return of Kate Forbes, but those with longer memories might recall the overlap between Forbes last being in government and Patrick Harvie being a junior minister in the very same administration. The fact that the Scottish Greens aren’t happy isn’t necessarily a bad thing from the SNP’s perspective after they wielded a disproportionate influence on policy, often with mixed results to say the least.
Humza Yousaf was the man responsible for extricating the SNP from the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens but managed to unceremoniously turf himself out in the process. To quote a former Aberdeen manager, Ebbe Skovdahl, about his tactics after a 6-0 humbling by Celtic, ‘the operation was a success, but the patient died.’ It falls to Yousaf’s successor to take the party forward, navigating the challenges of minority government, providing much needed stability.
There wasn’t anyone else better suited to that task who could also unite different party factions. Swinney is the perennial ‘safe pair of hands’, a likeable figure respected across the political divide, who has pledged to work with others across the chamber to pass legislation and budgets.
His decision to bring back Kate Forbes is a wise move from the new First Minister, even if it upsets their former coalition partners. It is a signal to the Scottish Greens about who is in charge while simultaneously returning an exceptional political talent, showing his party means business.
