Can new leader deliver?

Wendy Alexander does not lack experience in Scottish government but, as she formally takes up the reins of the Labour group at Holyrood today, a more pertinent question is whether she can create an effective opposition. She has already shown herself to be a politician of vision who sees more clearly than many in her party how far Labour must travel to make itself electable again in Scotland. Since May's elections and with Labour disillusioned by defeat, Alex Salmond and his party have had such a clear run in government that if another election were called today, the Nationalists would probably consolidate their hold on power. Yet effective opposition, capable of holding the government to account, is an important ingredient of parliamentary democracy. Can the Paisley North MSP inject a sense of purpose and direction into her demoralised ranks of MSPs and convince the electorate that Labour is capable of delivering what she calls "an agenda of hope and aspiration"?