Yousaf received around 26,000 votes, slightly more than her competitor Kate Forbes, who received nearly 24,000 votes. Ash Regan had already lost in the first round of voting. He succeeds Nicola Sturgeon, who surprisingly passed away six weeks ago.
As Minister of Health in Sturgeon’s cabinet, he really didn’t excel, says Van Bekhoven. ‘But the more important question is whether he can guarantee Scotland’s independence. This is what it means to be the leader of the Scottish nationalists.”
The process is fixed
And this is still the question, thinks the VK correspondent. ‘All the candidates who have fought for the leadership of the SNP want to get rid of England. However, the problem is that this process has stalled. And it is difficult to get it going again.’
It appears that the SNP has lost tens of thousands of members in recent years. And polls show that the number of pro-independence supporters is dwindling. “For a long time it was around 50 percent, but now supporters hardly exceed 40 percent. And this is really new,’ says Van Bekhoven. In this regard, Yousaf is having a difficult time, he thinks. ‘This theme is the most important topic for this party.’
more neutral
Besides, it will be difficult for him to put himself in Sturgeon’s shoes, thinks Van Bekhoven. She’ she was a fantastic communicator, sometimes she was greeted like a pop star and she managed to fill large halls with people in a short time. But she was also detested for dividing the earth.’ Yousaf is much more neutral in this sense, thinks Van Bekhoven.
And while the idea of an independent Scotland is receiving less and less support, it may not be completely swept off the table. “Independent seems particularly popular with young people,” explains Van Bekhoven. Most people aged 45 and under want to separate from England and the rest of Britain. Most of that age group consider themselves more Scottish than British, and consider themselves European. I wouldn’t cancel independence in the long run.
Humor
Yousaf is the first Muslim to lead a major party in the UK, as well as the first Muslim to lead a Western European country. There will be a vote in the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday before Yousaf officially becomes prime minister of the country.