Scotland’s next First Minister is a man of ‘deep Christian faith’ – but was said to be too boring for SNP backer Sean Connery
It meant that Mr Swinney, 60, enjoyed an unopposed coronation, after being backed by a plethora of senior party figuresThe former Deputy First Minister is viewed as a safe pair of hands after a period of turmoil for the SNP, having enjoyed senior roles in the governments of
According to polling guru Prof John Curtice, Mr Swinney “wasn’t really that good at” leading the SNP. The party failed to make any progress at the 2001 general election and lost eight MSPs at the 2003 Holyrood election. After the turbulence of Mr Yousaf’s year in charge, Mr Swinney has been put in place to unite the SNP and shore up the party’s flagging vote by proving he can run a steady, credible minority government.
He has never been viewed as a charismatic politician. James Bond star Sean Connery, a leading Scottish independence backer, reportedly thought that Mr Swinney was too boring to be leader during his first stint in charge. He publicly offered Ms Forbes a “significant” role, although it is not clear whether he will make the ambitious, socially-conservative MSP his deputy leader in a bid to end divisions inside the SNP.
He has signalled he wants to move away from some of the left-wing, Green-led policies of the last three years, agreeing with Ms Forbes that the net zero transition must “work with and not against” Scotland’s oil and gas industry.
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