Achi news desk-
His leadership has been in turmoil ever since the shock power-sharing deal between the SNP and the Scottish Greens ended on Thursday.
READ MORE: Defiant Humza Yousaf as the future hangs in the balance
There are two motions of no confidence for MSPs to vote on.
The first, presented by the Scottish Conservatives, is on Mr Yousaf as First Minister, and the second, presented by Scottish Labour, is on the Scottish Government.
Although losing the first would be politically difficult for the Prime Minister, losing the second – in accordance with the Scotland Act – would require Mr Yousaf and all his ministers to resign.
Both confidence votes only require a simple majority.
The SNP has 63 MLAs. However, the opposition parties have a combined total of 64.
All parties except Alba have so far said they will support Douglas Ross’s proposal on Mr Yousaf’s record.
So far only the Tories and the Liberal Democrats have confirmed that they will support Scottish Labor’s bid to ban the Prime Minister.
Both Alba and the Greens expressed some skepticism – although neither has specifically ruled out voting for the measure.
Mr Salmond’s proposal was never likely to be agreeable to Mr Yousaf and the SNP. One senior source described it as “delusional.”
The former prime minister told the Sunday Times that he wanted to see the SNP support his “Scotland United” plan.
He told the paper: “If you remember the Scotland United idea from last year that Humza just ignored, which was very popular with the Yes groups and with SNP supporters,” Salmond said.
“It would be difficult to fully revive it now because obviously candidates have been selected [for the general election]but it could be partially revived, or there could be an understanding for Scottish elections in two years’ time.
“So a discussion along these lines, so it’s a menu of independence options.”
He added: “We are asking for independence to be given back as the government’s main priority, which is clearly not the case now.”
READ MORE: The SNP’s Kate Forbes hopes the Scottish Greens will ‘welcome’ her
Currently, the SNP holds 61 of Scotland’s 73 Holyrood constituencies.
Alba’s only seat is Ash Regan’s Edinburgh Eastern, which she initially won for the SNP before crashing it.
Labour’s Monica Lennon tweeted: “I wonder if any SNP MPs will volunteer to step aside to help seal this deal?”
When asked about the proposal, a spokesman for the Prime Minister told the Sun: “This is a fantasy. There is no possibility of the Prime Minister agreeing to any agreement like this with Alex Salmond.”
On Friday night, Mr Yousaf wrote to the leaders of the other political parties in Holyrood to seek “common ground”.
He hopes to hold separate meetings with each group at Bute House in Edinburgh to discuss how they can “contribute constructively.”
Mr Ross, the Tory leader in Scotland, described the letter as “a disgraceful and embarrassing letter, in which Humza Yousaf begs to be allowed to keep her job.”
“The fact that he belatedly abandoned the Bute House Agreement with the toxic Greens – which he was supporting just two days before he finally decided to pull the plug – does nothing to undo the damage tremendous it has caused.”
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf faces a crisis – of his own making, says Brian Taylor
The Scottish Greens said they would formally respond to the First Minister in due course, but otherwise their position has not changed.
Scottish Green co-leader Patrick Harvie has said it is “quite clear” Mr Yousaf will not be able to unite Holyrood.
Speaking on Friday, Scottish Labor’s Anas Sarwar said: “I’m more than happy to engage with people from all parties, but Humza Yousaf is clearly out of time.”
