Nicola Sturgeon has admitted the SNP could have a different leader by the time of the next Holyrood election.
The First Minister hinted her long spell at the top of Scottish politics could come to an end before 2026, when the poll is due to be held.
But the SNP leader did not rule out leading her party into the next Holyrood election and claimed it remained her "default position".
Sturgeon replaced Alex Salmond as both leader of the SNP and First Minister in the days after the 2014 independence referendum.
She made the comments on her future while being interviewed today by LBC radio presenter Ian Dale at a Fringe show in Edinburgh.
Asked whether she could still stay in touch with ordinary voters’ concerns after so long in office, she said: "Who in this room can say with 100 per cent certainty what we'll be doing four years from now?
"The default position is that of course I’ll fight the next election, but I will make a judgment on that nearer the time.
"This is a serious job and anybody in a job like this owes it to the public to make sure that they’re the right person to do it, that they've got the energy to do it, that they've got the appetite, that they're prepared to make the enormous commitment that a job like this involves, and to constantly be assessing and reassessing that.
"I think that's important, and I will try my best to do that."
Sturgeon continued: "I think most Scottish politicians of all parties will testify to - maybe this is a bit Scottish, not uniquely but particularly Scottish - I think politicians that get out a touch above themselves very quickly get brought crashing back to earth."
The First Minister was also asked about her interactions with Boris Johnson.
Comparing him to his predecessor, she said: "I think perhaps uncharitably I described my conversations with Theresa May, when she was Prime Minister, as being soul destroying. I look back somewhat fondly now on that."
Sturgeon also said she and Ms May "differed massively" in their political beliefs but the former Prime Minister "took the job seriously".
In contrast, she said her interactions with Boris Johnson were "one long bluster".
She continued: "You know, he was a third Prime Minister I’ve dealt with as First Minister. It was literally like nothing I’ve ever dealt with before in terms of any senior politician
"You know, I’m going to be blunt here, he was a disgrace to the office of Prime Minister."
Responding to Sturgeon's interview, Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton said: "With hundreds of thousands of Scots facing a long cold winter, we need a First Minister whose head is in the game.
"Nicola Sturgeon has served a long time at the top, I'm sure no one would blame her for walking away.
"Scotland needs a First Minister who is totally committed to tackling the cost-of-living crisis, helping our NHS recover from the pandemic and making Scottish education the best in the world again. It's clear that that is never going to be Nicola Sturgeon."
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