Humza Yousaf claimed he had been elected to the “best job” in Scottish politics on the day he became SNP leader.
The reality is it looks like he was walking into a burning building.
A police investigation into SNP finances when Nicola Sturgeon was leader has led to the arrest of senior party figures and massive reputational damage.
Petrol, not water, is being thrown on a fire Yousaf did not start.
The new First Minister wants to get on the front foot and be defined by his own actions in Government.
His statement yesterday, focusing heavily on social justice and a “reset” with business, was the perfect opportunity to strike out on his own.
The front pages will instead major on the arrest of his party treasurer Colin Beattie, rather than how he will try to use the powers of the parliament to improve lives.
Yousaf, the SNP and the independence movement are at the mercy of events they cannot control.
The SNP is the main vehicle for promoting independence, but the police probe and the historic aversion to transparency under Sturgeon is killing the party.
The next stage in their rapid decline may well be defeat in Rutherglen and Hamilton West if a by-election is called.
Yousaf’s party is defined by historic by-elections victories, from Winnie Ewing in 1967 to Jim Sillars winning Glasgow Govan in 1988.
The SNP could be in line for their own historic hammering.
Yousaf was elected as the “continuity Sturgeon” candidate, but there are signs he realises this tag has to be ditched pronto.
Yesterday’s statement saw him delaying or ditching key policies associated with her time in office.
But despite this distance he has created he still lives in the shadow of Sturgeon.
Yousaf has rejected calls for his predecessor to be suspended - a stance fully in accordance with natural justice.
But there may come a time in the future, for the sake of the SNP, when Yousaf needs to make a more fundamental break with his mentor.
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