Achi news desk-
Writing in The National today he called on all parties to support the Prime Minister in the votes of no confidence but also – perhaps indicating a possible new orientation in the leadership – he called for the personal support of the Greens.
The First Minister has said he is not resigning and is writing to other parties in the Scottish Parliament – inviting them to talks to find a way forward.
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Mr Yousaf terminated the power-sharing agreement between the SNP and the Scottish Greens on Thursday, leading the less pro-independence party to turn against him.
Another SNP MEP who has previously rebelled against the party’s whip in Holyrood votes, Ivan McKee, also said the party was uniting behind Mr Yousaf.
Ms Forbes, who came second in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon last year, said recent events had been “embarrassing for every senator in every party”.
Writing in The National, Ms Forbes said: “It’s easy to be loyal to a party when times are good and the party is ahead in the polls.
“But you find out what real leadership is – and what real loyalty is – when times are tougher and that’s why I will be supporting the SNP and the Prime Minister through next week’s battle and I encourage everyone in our party and everyone who cares about Scotland to do the same.”
During last year’s leadership contest, the Greens said they would not support Ms Forbes to become First Minister and would pull out of the Bute House Agreement if she became SNP leader.
With the deal now out and the SNP now governing as a minority, Ms Forbes underlined what she saw as the virtues of working as a minority government, pointing to that of Alex Salmond from 2007 to 2011 and to describe as “the most productive administration of devolution”. Ms Sturgeon’s government between 2016 and 2021 was also a minority.
“It is interesting to reflect that perhaps the minority government between 2007 and 2011, where there was no majority and the parliamentary arithmetic was at its most uncertain, was the most productive administration of devolution,” wrote Ms Forbes in The National.
“Cabinet ministers were able to work with all parties and the public rewarded the SNP with a majority in 2011. That should not dissuade minority parties from working with the SNP but instead they should learn the lesson that the the public is best served when we all work together and that is when the political class is most respected.”
He then went on to urge the Scottish Greens for their personal support.
He wrote: “Let us get away from the language of who is and who is not acceptable to work with. For example, long before and during the Bute House Agreement, Patrick Harvie and I worked together – that’s no secret . The question then is whether my world is big enough to embrace the Greens – the question is whether their world is big enough to embrace me.”
Former SNP minister Mr McKee was asked if Mr Yousaf would resign if he lost the vote of confidence.
He told the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland radio programme: “I don’t think there is any doubt about that.
“The vote of confidence, although not legally binding, would be a clear sign of the will of parliament.
“And if you lose a vote of no confidence then it is clear that you do not have the confidence of parliament.
“But I think, as I said, the Prime Minister is using his political skills to negotiate to make sure he doesn’t lose that (vote)”.
He said that the First Minister is confident that he can make a deal to win the vote, saying: “At the moment everyone in the SNP is focused on making sure we win the vote of no confidence.”
Both Ms Forbes and Mr McKee had previously voiced doubts about the Bute House Agreement, which brought the Greens into the Scottish Government in 2021.
Amidst the tight parliamentary arithmetic in Holyrood, the vote of Alba Holyrood Party leader – and former SNP MLA – Ash Regan could be crucial to Mr Yousaf’s political survival.
She is one of the political leaders that Mr Yousaf will write to before the confidence votes in Holyrood.
In an interview with the BBC on Friday, Ms Regan said she had not spoken to Mr Yousaf since the leadership contest last year. She said she was still considering how to cast her vote.
He said: “I think maybe some of the things he said about me when I left to go to a different political party last year probably show that it’s always wise to have that level of professional courtesy to the people you work with.”
In October last year, Mr Yousaf said Ms Regan’s defense of Alba was not a “big loss”.
On Friday, Mr Yousaf was adamant he would win the confidence votes but said he would not rule out an early Holyrood election.
He told the PA news agency: “When the vote comes I fully intend to win.”
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie has said it is “quite clear” Mr Yousaf will not be able to unite Holyrood – urging the SNP to consider finding a replacement.
