WITHIN days of his landslide victory in last May's Parliamentary elections Alex Salmond was in Glasgow firing warning shots at Labour over the Commonwealth Games.
The significance was clear: Glasgow was next on the SNP's list. For the first time in a generation Glasgow has a contest in the local elections and the stakes are massive.
If the SNP unseats Labour for the first time since the 1970s there is the symbolism of taking the scalp of its bitterest foe in one of its last heartlands. But it would also give the Nationalists the key to the engine room of Scotland's economy, provide a platform for the independence referendum and gain the kudos of hosting the 2014 Games.
Both the SNP and Labour are fielding around 45 candidates, enough for an overall majority. But some believe that while Labour might end up as the largest party, they could be ousted by an SNP-led coalition.
One thing is clearer. Win or lose, these next few weeks are in all likelihood the last in the job for current council leader Gordon Matheson, who has failed to hold together the Labour administration after the spectacular demise of his predecessor Steven Purcell and the fall-out from it.
On his watch, Labour has lost its majority for the first time in almost 40 years, while de-selected Labour councillors have formed a breakaway party, Glasgow First.
The likely return of ex-Scottish Executive minister Frank McAveety to the City Chambers, the increasing profile of Stephen Curran, the "acceptable face of Glasgow Labour" and the ambition and abilities of Paul Rooney all suggest a new leader.
The SNP would also have leadership issues of its own. Allison Hunter has been singled out by Labour as the SNP's weak link.
Others who may have formed the core of an SNP administration are either in Holyrood, other parties or are leaving frontline politics. Inevitably the Nationalists face allegations they are being directed by ministers, chiefly Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Local Government Minister Derek Mackay.
The demise of the LibDems in Glasgow may also be exaggerated. The consensus is that on a recent television hustings the group's leader Paul Coleshill was the most polished performer and astutely mentioned his local party was not being steered by Edinburgh or London.
They, or even the odd Tory or some Greens, could hold the balance of power.
Dr Neil McGarvey, of Strathclyde University's politics department, said: "Given the profile and power of the SNP leadership you imagine Sturgeon will be playing a more significant role in Glasgow if the SNP are elected.
"The voting system makes things tricky, especially with Glasgow First now in the mix, and it could all come down to what people do with their second, third and fourth preferences."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article