SNP leader-elect and First Minister-in-waiting Nicola Sturgeon is to embark on an unprecedented nationwide tour of Scotland ahead of a reshuffle.
Ms Sturgeon, who was the only politician to put her name forward at close of nominations yesterday, announced she is to reach out to her rapidly expanding party with rallies in Edinburgh, Dumfries, Dundee, Inverness, Glasgow and Aberdeen over six weeks.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the events as Ms Sturgeon aims to hit the ground running and inform new party members about her plans to reposition the Nationalists ahead of next year's General Election and 2016 Scottish Parliament poll.
Ms Sturgeon said: "I am looking forward to meeting as many of our new recruits as possible and sharing with them my vision for the future.
"The tour of Scotland I will undertake in the next few weeks also sets the template for the kind of First Minister I want to be - open, accessible and determined to work with others across the political divide to find common cause and build a better country.
"The hope, excitement and sense of opportunity of the referendum campaign did not end on polling day. It is alive, well and growing. This is a great time for Scotland and I look forward to leading my party and our country to even better times ahead."
Each new member is invited to bring along someone who is not yet a member or supporter of the SNP. The party's membership has more than trebled to over 80,000 since the independence referendum on September 18.
Ms Sturgeon is expected to receive a parliamentary vote electing her as First Minister on November 18, clearing the decks for a Cabinet reshuffle that will stamp her mark on government.
Professor James Mitchell, of Edinburgh University, said: "It has never been known for a new leader in any party - in the UK, far less Scotland - to speak to audiences of members, supporters and broader audiences after an election or referendum and anticipating such numbers.
"This makes a major change in our politics. The challenge will be to maintain that momentum, not in the level of political engagement but the extraordinary positive mood for a side that lost.
"The referendum winners are behaving like losers - fighting among themselves, accusing each other of bad faith - and the referendum losers are displaying the confidence and optimism of winners.
"Perhaps that tells us about deeper, underlying trends in our politics."
Ms Sturgeon became leader-elect at 9am yesterday when there were no other nominations for the role following Alex Salmond's decision to stand down.
It was confirmed Transport Minister Keith Brown, Training, Youth and Women's Employment Secretary Angela Constance and Westminster Treasury spokesman Stewart Hosie are the candidates to become her No 2. The results will be announced at the SNP conference in Perth from November 13 to 15. By that time Ms Sturgeon will have undertaken four speaking engagements: at the Corn Exchange, Edinburgh, on October 29; Easterbrook Hall, Dumfries, on October 31; Caird Hall, Dundee, on November 7; and Eden Court Theatre, Inverness, on November 10.
Ms Sturgeon will also take part in an online interview and Q&A session on social networking site Facebook to give new members in rural and remote areas the chance to engage.
Ms Sturgeon will address a 12,000-strong rally in the SSE Hydro, Glasgow, on November 22, after becoming First Minister.
On December 7 she will complete her tour at the Music Hall in Aberdeen.
Tickets for the events are being made available free through the party, aimed primarily at new members who are being offered a second ticket to bring along a non-party member as part of a continuing recruitment drive.
Having gone from 25,000 members to more than 80,000 in recent weeks, party strategists intend to fill all of the venues and further boost membership as the SNP readies itself to fight the General Election next May and the Holyrood campaign.
Mr Salmond said: "I think she will be an outstanding leader of the Scottish National Party and an outstanding First Minister."
Scotland Office Minister David Mundell congratulated Ms Sturgeon at Scottish Questions in the Commons for "emulating Margaret Thatcher" to become the first female leader of her party.
Angus Robertson, the Nationalists' leader at Westminster, bristled: "I'm sure he would not want to create a false impression. There is absolutely no comparison between Nicola Sturgeon and Margaret Thatcher."
Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont said: "I warmly welcome and congratulate Nicola Sturgeon on the confirmation she will be the new leader of the SNP and believe it to be a positive step the three main parties in Scotland will all be led by women."
l The Herald will carry statements from the three deputy leadership contenders tomorrow.
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