Achi news desk-
But the hope of reaching some kind of agreement with the former prime minister’s party would go “down like a bucket of sick cold,” said one SNP MP.
“It’s not a question that we could do a deal with Salmond – a former host on RT,” tweeted Stewart McDonald. “It would go down like a bucket of sick cold with voters and be met with horror in the capitals of Europe. To cut a deal with such a figure as Russia pushing bombs into Ukraine would be a reputational rip off.”
READ MORE: Yousaf rejects Salmond’s ‘fantasy’ call for a pro-indy electoral deal
Even if Mr Yousaf survives the week, a senior SNP MLA has said his days will be numbered.
Fergus Ewing told the Sunday Mail: “I think he will survive this vote but I think the damage to his reputation means he won’t survive much longer.”
The Greens have made it clear they are not willing to change, despite an apology from Ian Blackford for the shock termination of the Bute House Agreement.
He told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg: “I apologize for what has happened this week. It could have happened in a different way. But we are where we are”
Scottish Green co-convener Lorna Slater told the BBC’s Sunday Show that her party could not support the Scottish Government while Mr Yousaf was First Minister.
“Humza Yousaf has lost our confidence and lost our trust,” he said.
“I can’t imagine anything at the moment that could change that situation,” added the former minister. “This is a shocking breach of trust.”
Asked if policy proposals from Mr Yousaf ahead of the vote could persuade them to abstain, she replied: “(The Bute House Agreement) was based on mutual trust and respect. I have trust and respect for many of my colleagues in the SNP.
“But Humza Yousaf himself has broken that and he needs to face the consequences.”
READ MORE: Could Kate Forbes replace Humza Yousaf without a fight?
In a round of interviews on Sunday morning, Alex Salmond denied that there had ever been a call for an electoral agreement in favor of independence which would mean that the SNP would not stand in some constituencies.
He insisted that Ms Regan, his party’s sole MLA and leader of Holyrood, would present “reasonable proposals,” when she met Mr Yousaf.
He told Sky News that he would emphasize “the priority of independence for Scotland, protecting women and girls in Scottish society and returning the Government to the things that matter to the people – education, health, housing and, in above all, the economy and jobs.”
On the BBC, he said this would include a commitment to an independence convention and support for the Alba referendum Bill on the devolution of powers to “legislate and negotiate” for self-determination.
However, Mr Salmond said that his party’s executive committee was due to meet this afternoon to discuss election planning, with the possibility of an early vote at Holyrood looking increasingly likely.
Asked about Mr McDonald’s comments, Mr Salmond dismissed the Glasgow South MP as a “travel agent.”
He told Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips: “He cares a lot about the capitals of Europe, I think his previous profession was a travel agent.
“I think a very significant thing is that he is not in the Scottish Parliament, he does not have to face the political arithmetic.
“I think Stewart McDonald should spend a little less time worrying about European capitals and more time cooperating with fellow believers in Scottish independence.”
Former SNP minister Marco Biagi warned that any SNP deal with Alba was “for life, not just for Christmas.”
He added: “It’s two years of being forced to dance on top of a trap door while Alex Salmond holds the lever.”
Any deal with Alba is for life, not just for Christmas. It’s two years of being forced to dance on top of a trap door while Alex Salmond holds the lever. https://t.co/NO754X8iAf
— Marco Biagi (@MarcoGBiagi) April 28, 2024
READ MORE: Scots Publishing tycoons give ‘serious’ campaign donations to MPs
Meanwhile, the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, Alex Cole-Hamilton, has rejected Mr Yousaf’s offer of talks in Bute House.
In a letter, he said the Prime Minister’s actions last week “have completely eroded any trust you enjoyed across the chamber.”
He added: “They suggest that, rather than being motivated by the national interest, you are only motivated by your own self-interest and political survival at the moment.”
Mr Cole-Hamilton said Mr Yousaf should “put the national interest first” and “resign the office of First Minister and call a Scottish Parliament Election so that the people of Scotland can determine the future of our Parliament and our country.”
