Alex Salmond was the undisputed figurehead of the independence motion for many years.
He was the immediately recognisable, vibrant, controversial, and complex face of a motion that Salmond dragged from the fringes to the forefront of political discourse within the Scotland we all know immediately.
Though Salmond has been on the sidelines of the present in latest occasions, he has change into a thorn within the aspect of the SNP, agitating for a extra pressing push in direction of a second referendum.
He used his pro-independence Alba get together as a automobile to protest and push his predecessors over his insistence that their technique was sluggish and incompetent.
Ever the optimist, Salmond really believed Alba would acquire some electoral success on the Holyrood elections in 2026.
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Salmond ‘was a formidable opponent’
He was adamant it will be his “big come back”; the last word revenge to the previous colleagues and buddies who had minimize him out fully throughout his trials and tribulations.
The polls, although, advised a unique story. It was going to be an almighty mountain to climb. Was it basic Salmond spin? In all probability.
The way forward for Salmond’s brainchild, the Alba get together, was arguably rocky earlier than his loss of life, having did not safe any huge electoral wins. Now its very existence appears to be like to be on the road.
The problem to the broader nationalist motion is to discover a charismatic chief of equal high quality to Alex Salmond to take it to the following degree.
The polling guru Professor Sir John Curtice says that particular person or character will not be instantly within the body. Only a few would disagree.
Nicola Sturgeon is out of the body, Humza Yousaf scurried out of workplace after an almighty gaff along with his power-sharing companions within the Inexperienced Get together and John Swinney is from the decades-old Salmond period.
There’s stalemate on the long run path of Scottish independence. The street appears to be like very unsure and with the departure of Alex Salmond, the stage is searching for its new star. Nevertheless, it’s unlikely the motion will ever see the likes of him once more.
