THERE was a rare sense of anticipation ahead of Thursday’s session of FMQs.
Not least because we were all eager to see whether Parliament’s new security measures would stop the climate change protesters from interrupting proceedings, as they have regularly since the beginning of the year. Spoiler alert: they didn’t.
All eyes were on new First Minister Humza Yousaf as he continues what can only be described as the most brutal induction period in history.
In recent media interviews, Mr Yousaf has been keen to reiterate that becoming First Minister is the greatest honour and privilege of his life.
I’m sure it is. But it must also – on the basis of the information before us – be a bit of a pain in the arse, too.
If, in your first few weeks on the job, you’ve had questions put to you that include the words bankruptcy, jail, arrested or forensic accountants, then it’s fair to conclude that as settling in periods go, you’ve had a shocker.
Douglas Ross has been thoroughly enjoying himself during the SNP finances crisis.
He’s been on the receiving end of the “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed” face so many times, it must be nice to get to dish it out for a change – though he probably would have preferred if his colleagues down in Westminster could have taken a week off from the Tory sleaze, just to get the full effect.
This week, it was announced that the Prime Minister is being investigated by Parliament’s standards watchdog, over failing to properly declare shares his wife holds in a childcare firm.
I suppose when you are a multi-squillionaire it must be hard to keep track of all the places you’ve got loot stashed.
At Holyrood, Douglas Ross began FMQs by (in what I’m sure was an entirely benevolent gesture) giving Humza Yousaf a chance to make a statement about the mess that the SNP is in.
The deputy Presiding Officer interjected to say that FMQs isn’t really the place to be discussing party matters, though the First Minister insisted that he was “happy” to answer.
“Of course there are serious issues for the party to address,” he said.
“I’m not going to shy away from that. That’s why – in my very first act as SNP leader attending my first national executive committee – I’m pleased we got agreement [to implement] a review into transparency and governance.”
He went on to say that he was “relentlessly focused” on the day job and the priorities of the Scottish people.
Douglas Ross hit back: “The first words from the First Minister when he stood up were that he was happy to answer the question, and then he basically refused to do so. I was simply asking for a statement and transparency and I think it is needed from the First Minister, because the secrecy must end.”
This story isn’t going away any time soon. I think Humza Yousaf can guess what he’ll be asked about next week.
