BURNING THE SHIPS
Kate Forbes opted for the Hernan Cortez approach: burn all ships. Insisting SNP front-runner Humza Yousaf is incompetent, the sound you hear are opposition politicians uncorking champagne
WHEN Hernan Cortés arrived in what is today Mexico his men were exhausted by the voyage. Discovering unfriendly native peoples and confronted by a strange, unfamiliar land, many of his soldiers were reluctant to fight. Cortés, desperate to conquer himself a throne was having none of it. To motivate his men he burned his ships. It is fair to say, this is precisely the approach taken by Kate Forbes as she controlled the leaders debate, burning Humza Yousaf’s’ reputation alongside the SNP’s entire sixteen year record in office
Burning the ships
There was no going back for the Scottish Finance Secretary as she thoroughly stuck the boot into her cabinet colleague during the cross-examinations session. Deciding to go well beyond hints and sly insinuations the evangelical ‘wee frees’ believing Ms Forbes insisted on total sincerity. Describing Mr Yousaf’s entire career in frontline politics she said to Mr Yousaf
"You've had a number of jobs in government. When you were a transport minister, the trains were never on time. When you were justice minister the police were strained to breaking point and now as health minister, we've got record-high waiting times."
Had one of them been Scottish Labour or Tory I might not be so stunned, but no, these two people are cabinet colleagues. They sit in the same government and political party.
But Ms Forbes insisted on doubling down, perhaps realising as Cortés soldiers once did, the only way now was forward. Looking STV’s Colin Mackay straight in the whites of the eyes, she reassured that should she win there would be a place in cabinet for Mr Yousaf. In soft acid tones she said, “there is room for Humza Yousaf, but maybe not in health".
At this point I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. Kate Forbes just sacked Humza Yousaf from Health should she win. All the while confirming what opposition politicians have been telling the public: under the SNP the NHS has become a disaster zone.
Unsurprisingly Ms Forbes' decision to launch a blizkrieg on the SNP's record in government, on live TV, did not go down well with all sections of the party…
It’s worth drawing to the readers attention what many SNP politicians have been saying in private…Humza’s not competent enough. There are SNP MPs who believe should the Health Secretary triumph in this contest there would be another leadership contest soon enough afterward.
Like any good general Ms Forbes knew her audience. She decided going into the STV ring the best way to conquer the citadel was to say out loud what those SNP politicians are whispering in private.
In this vein she continued to hammer the Yousaf vulnerability vis-a-vis perceived competency. "This election is about competence" Ms Forbes insisted pointedly at Humza Yousaf. "People want competent delivery”.
Kate Forbes helpfully summed up the last sixteen years of her own party’s time running Scotland saying: "More of the same is not a manifesto – it is an acceptance of mediocrity".
That is what the Finance Secretary thinks of the SNP’s record in power: "mediocrity".
Now I don’t know about you, but at this point it’s fair to say the ‘readiness thermometer’s “dial that moves” was pointing firmly to 'blood on the carpet’.
If this leadership debate is anything to go by, it will prove exceptionally hard for the dominant political party in Scottish politics to come back together again post-election. Judging by the STV leaders debate, I reckon the other broadcasters should just have cross-examination instead of debates. In the end, it was all a bit of a Glasgow-rammy and that howling laughter you can hear coming from the Clydeside is Scottish Labour. They know they’ll be the winners soon enough if the SNP keeps on like this.
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Excellent as always, thank you!