NICOLA Sturgeon has resigned as Scotland’s First Minister, having spent more than eight years in the role.
In a shock announcement on Wednesday, the SNP leader said she was not reacting to “short-term pressures” after a series of political setbacks.
The National had a look at how the leader of Scotland's resignation was reported in some of the world's international and national publications.
France
Le Parisien described her resignation as “a blow to the independence cause in the British nation”.
Considering independence was the fight of her lifetime, the paper wrote that she decided to “throw in the towel”.
Highlighting her popularity as well as her recent “weakened” image due to Scotland’s Gender Recognition Reform Bill, the paper added that she is considered the “undisputed, determined and popular figure” of the independence cause.
Spain
El Pais said that her statement was an attempt to “make sure that this is her version of things, and not the reality reflected in the media during the last weeks” stating that support collapsed after “a chain of setbacks and blunders.”
However, the paper also wrote that her popularity was due to “her consistent defiance of London's policies” and a “serious and rigorous management of the pandemic”.
La Vanguardia has Spain's fourth-highest circulation among general-interest newspapers.
They ran their story with the headline: “Nicola Sturgeon, the Lamborghini runs out of gas” explaining further in the article that “on the curvy road of Scottish politics, Nicola Sturgeon has been like a Lamborghini compared to the utilitarians of her Conservative, Labour, Liberal rivals and the SNP itself.”
Germany
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung noted that "as in the case of New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern about a month ago, Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon surprised with her resignation announcement. And like Ardern, she put inner contemplation in the foreground".
Denmark
Denmark’s biggest newspaper Berlingske – which is also among the oldest newspapers in the world – told its readers that Sturgeon’s decision is “not linked to recent cases of criticism of her role in the Scottish movement for independence, which some find too passive, and discussions about transgender rights”.
America
The Washington Post highlighted the progress made by the First Minister on “her animating cause: independence”.
She is also being recognized for the “international praise” she benefited from with her “handling of the pandemic” and her help to “make Scotland a global leader on climate”.
The article said her remarks are considered as “intensely personal” and “not very political”. The paper also noted that she took "no parting shots and burned no bridges” in her resignation.
Ireland
The Irish Times highlighted the tribute paid to Sturgeon by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar. He said: “I had the pleasure to work with Nicola through the British Irish Council and met her on a number of occasions."
Italy
La Repubblica, an Italian news publication with a daily circulation of more than 300,000, wrote: “Nicola Sturgeon surrenders, surprisingly, like her New Zealand counterpart Jacinda Ardern who ‘had no more gasoline’.”
