The Sturgeon paradox: the worse she does, the more popular she becomes
Before Covid-19, if you can remember such a time, this was supposed to be a difficult year for Nicola Sturgeon. Her party had been in power in Edinburgh since 2007 and, like all ministries of such antiquity, was beginning to look jaded. There was never any doubt that she would remain First Minister following next year’s Holyrood elections, but the prospect of her winning a majority seemed to be receding.
Opposition parties believed that a relentless focus on the SNP’s record in office would be enough to clip Sturgeon’s wings.