So here it is April Fool’s but it’s no joke to say that less than a week into the new job, Humza Yousaf’s initial days as First Minister have done little to improve the tenuous relationship between government and business in Scotland.

In fact, some sections of the business community are even more uneasy than at this time last weekend. Mr Yousaf is talking the language of a “well-being economy”, but the many firms fighting at the moment just to stay afloat aren’t sure what that means as it translates to the here and now.

Private industry has long criticised governments of every persuasion around the world of poor communication and a lack of understanding. This censure ramped up during the Covid lockdowns, and has remained a particularly acute point of contention in Scotland.

In October 2020 – as Kate Forbes was settling into the job of erstwhile Finance Secretary Derek Mackay, and Scotland was more cautiously easing lockdown restrictions than elsewhere in the UK – a leading Scottish business figure told The Herald on the condition of anonymity: “I trust my ex-wife more than I trust [the Scottish Government], and I don’t trust my ex-wife much as all.”

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Ms Forbes was a bit of an unknown quantity at that time, but subsequently earned the respect of many for her handling of the financial brief.

However, she has now left the cabinet, followed closely by Business Minister Ivan McKee. Both were effectively offered demotions as Mr Yousef assembled his new top team.

Deputy First Minister Shona Robison has been drafted in as Scotland’s new Finance Minister, while Neil Gray, Mr Yousaf’s leadership campaign manager, joins the cabinet for the first time as Secretary for the Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work, and Energy. This means the finance and economy briefs have effectively been split, with Ms Robison given responsibility for the Scottish budget.

As Herald deputy business editor Scott Wright noted earlier this week, neither of these new ministers have significant business experience. They must prove whether they can be trusted partners for the business community, but this will be tricky as the SNP and Scottish Greens – the force behind Scotland’s controversial Deposit Return Scheme – are continuing with their governing pact.

READ MORE: SNP worse on business and economy than Tories? Really?

Writing yesterday, Herald business editor Ian McConnell took a slightly different view, calling into question how the narrative of former first minister Nicola Sturgeon’s poor relationship with the business community has become “conventional wisdom”.

Noting that latest figures showed Scotland outpacing UK-wide progress on attracting inward business investment, he said the Scottish Government has “generally been competent on the economic front”, and “crucially” in its lobbying to alleviate the burdens of Brexit.

“People need to be grown-up about realising the extent of the economic levers the Scottish Government has, and more importantly they need to be honest about the powers that it does not possess,” he writes.

“Huge damage has been done to Scotland’s economy by terrible Tory errors such as savage welfare cuts, other ill-judged and counter-productive austerity, and Brexit.  Everyone is entitled to hold the Scottish Government to account on the economy and business but it would surely be good to see the Tories refrain from hypocrisy and game-playing on this front.”

Whatever your point of view, what remains clear is that Mr Yousaf is facing a major uphill battle to persuade business leaders that the economy is among his top priorities