YOU can say many things about Nicola Sturgeon, but “ruthless” is hardly one of them. However, yesterday’s comprehensive reshuffling of her Cabinet – dubbed the Day of the Long Sgian Dubhs by a BBC reporter – hinted at an understanding that something drastic had to be done if the Scottish Government was to continue to claim with any credibility that it was tackling the country’s problems.
In health and education – the big priorities – in particular, it has given the impression in recent months of flailing about. Shona Robison at health has undoubtedly had a hard time of it. The scandal of NHS Tayside using charitable donations to cover running costs, frequent complaints about staffing levels and, most recently, the discovery of a culture of bullying within Lothian Health Board, all happened on her watch.
Obviously, matters at health-board level can be difficult to control, and Ms Robison’s successor will be faced with similar problems. But performance is judged by how one responds to such crises, and Ms Robison was not robust enough in confronting them. Her letter to the First Minister tells us she had a difficult year personally, and we sympathise with her on this. Undoubtedly, such personal matters would have added to her pressures but, alas, at ministerial level no quarter can be give and, professionally, Ms Robison seemed latterly to stumble from one crisis to the next.
She might take comfort from the old saw that all political careers end in failure, were it not for the example of John Swinney, who remains untouchable in the Cabinet, keeping his place even on the day he announced an embarrassing U-turn with the parking of his Education Bill. Offering empowerment that was not wanted, collaboration that already existed, and change for which there was no clamour, it was spectacularly ill-judged. But Honest John Swinney survives.
Keith Brown (economy), Angela Constance (communities), Alasdair Allan (international development), Annabelle Ewing (legal affairs), and Maureen Watt (mental health) were not so lucky. Among the new appointments, Jeane Freeman at health is thought to have performed well with her previous brief of social security, Humza Yousaf, who moves to justice, has had mixed results at transport, being late in particular with railways (to nationalise or not to nationalise?), and his successor, Michael Matheson, has not wanted for critics at justice. Yesterday was dramatic for ministers and would-be ministers, with the big black door at Bute House opening for some and being closed on others. New faces do not mean new policies. The problems policies are designed to confront will also remain. Time will tell whether this new Cabinet is an improvement on the old one – and if the new ministers have got what it takes.
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