Scottish Prime Minister resigns after blowing up his own government | Abroad

Yousaf is Prime Minister on behalf of the Scottish Nationalist Party (SNP), which seeks Scottish independence from the United Kingdom. The SNP leader will remain as prime minister until a successor is chosen.

The dismissal had been in the air all Monday. Last week Yousaf put a bomb under the coalition government between the SNP and the Scottish Greens when he canceled the cooperation agreement between the two parties. That agreement was the foundation of the difficult government under Yousaf’s predecessor Nicola Sturgeon, who resigned last year. Yousaf wanted to continue with the SNP as the only party in a minority government.

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After the Prime Minister canceled cooperation on Thursday, the Greens reacted angrily by backing a vote of no confidence against Yousaf by the Scottish Conservatives. The 39-year-old prime minister was further compromised by a vote of no confidence against the entire Scottish government of the social democratic party Labor. Both motions were expected to be discussed by parliament this week.

This made Yousaf’s chances of political survival extremely slim. On Monday he admitted that he had underestimated the Greens’ reaction to breaking the partnership, but insisted it was the right choice. He then handed in his resignation.

Yousaf will remain as prime minister until his party appoints a successor to be approved by parliament. If this is not possible within 28 days, elections will follow. The Guardian reported earlier in the day that there is no immediate successor available within the SNP. This means that things are not looking good for the SNP.

The resignation is another blow in an already turbulent year for the Scottish nationalists, who have been in power for seventeen years. The downward path was previously set off by a financing scandal, which forced the previously very popular Sturgeon to resign. Now the second SNP leader has fallen in just over a year.

The unrest in the current government and criticism of Yousaf’s actions may mean that the SNP would have to make significant concessions in a new election. The nationalists have already been overtaken by Labor in the polls. The Social Democrats are against Scottish independence, which means the SNP is losing momentum for a possible new independence referendum.

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