The Scottish National party has been in government since 2007, but only in the past year has the weight of incumbency started to look like an unmanageable burden. At the party’s election manifesto launch on Wednesday, John Swinney performed the role of a steady-handed veteran for which he was recruited just over a month ago. But voters have not forgotten the chaos that led to his appointment – the calamitous miscalculation that collapsed Humza Yousaf’s coalition with the Scottish Greens and triggered his resignation after little more than a year as first minister.
Also not forgotten are the financial scandals that have tarnished the legacy of Nicola Sturgeon, Mr Yousaf’s predecessor. The period when Ms Sturgeon rose above the political fray, and opposition barbs bounced off the SNP without sticking, feels long gone.
