Alex Salmond cemented his place in British political history in May 2011 when he and the Scottish National Party did something extraordinary.
They won an overall majority at Holyrood under a proportional system designed to promote coalitions, not one-party dominance. The result delivered two defining aspects of Salmond's legacy, with the SNP winning 69 of Holyrood's 129 seats.
It established the SNP as a formidable political force, which John Swinney on Sunday described as Salmond's “absolute determination” to win. Second, it was a referendum that established that Scottish independence was inevitable.
Nevertheless, questions about the side effects of the power Salmond was allowed to join the party and within the Scottish Government later emerged.
Did it prevent some of Salmond's co-workers from seeing or acting on the troubling evidence about his personal conduct, the actions that led to the sexual assault investigation, and the bitter feud? Nicola Sturgeon That defined her later years?
Within months of the 2011 election, the then Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government led by David Cameron quickly acceded to Salmond's demands for a referendum. At that time support for independence was around 32%; Cameron and his close allies were confident of victory and on 19 September 2014, the no campaign won by 55% to 45%.
Salmond stepped down, paving the way for Sturgeon to be elected unopposed as SNP leader. But in that failure Salmond succeeded in normalizing independence as a popular position, thanks to the depth and quality of his partnership with Sturgeon. He attracted younger, left-wing urban voters, complementing his appeal to the rural and suburban middle class. Scotland.
Support for independence has hovered around 45% to 50% ever since. A Yes vote is the firm preference of the majority of younger voters.
It also made the SNP one of the most dominant political forces in recent British political history. Until July this year, the SNP had not lost an election in Scotland since its first narrow victory in 2007.
Buoyed by a significant surge in SNP support stemming from the referendum defeat, the SNP scored an extraordinary victory when the party's membership rose to 120,000. The 2015 general election saw Scotland win 56 of Scotland's 59 Westminster seats with 50% of the vote.
In retrospect, however, that was Sturgeon's high point. The EU referendum in 2016, when Scotland voted to remain and England was expected to agree to Brexit because of a vote to leave, briefly turbocharged support for independence.
His efforts to promote a second independence referendum from Brexit backfired in the 2017 general election. Voters were alienated by his rhetoric and the SNP lost several seats – including Salmond. He has never lost a parliamentary contest, and he has lashed out.
To Sturgeon's dismay, Salmond ignored the advice of his closest aides and opted for a dignified exit by setting up a foundation or taking on international roles. Instead he started a chat show on the Kremlin-funded TV channel RT.
In August 2018, it was reported that Salmond was being investigated by Scottish Government officials for alleged misconduct towards female civil servants. Although these findings were later set aside by the court, that internal investigation upheld five complaints from two women, including apparent bias.
In March 2020, Salmond was indicted on 13 charges, including rape. He was acquitted of every charge, but some complaints at trial were handled quietly by some of Salmond's officers; Some of the complainants admitted that they downplayed their experiences at the time to avoid undermining Salmond's independence campaign.
Even his lawyer described Salmond's “touchy-feely” behavior as “inappropriate”. A confidant says he doesn't want to think about his own role in it, and is still convinced the charges are the result of a conspiracy.
By then Holyrood had launched its own inquiry into the government's mishandling of an internal review, perpetuating a now open feud with Sturgeon.
In the spring of 2021, Salmond's popularity plummeted: open opinion polls showed 8% of voters in favor of him; 75% dislike him. Sturgeon's popularity rose especially during the first year of the Covid crisis.
Salmond quit the SNP in anger. Establishing a rival party called Alpha. It became an outlet for SNP politicians and some activists irritated by Sturgeon's progressive, identity-focused policies and her alliance with the Scottish Greens.
With Salmond's unexpected death, Alpha is unlikely to remain a political force. Its only MSP, Ash Regan, is unlikely to win a seat at the next Holyrood election; In the July general election, Alpha received only 0.5% of the national vote.
Salmond's death raises a more delicate and significant question for the broader nationalist movement. With Sturgeon now largely a passive backbencher, he cannot stand for Holyrood again, with Swinney the only established nationalist leader.
There are a handful of potential candidates from the younger generation – Swinney's deputy, Kate Forbes, and the party's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn are often mentioned, but until the next Holyrood election in 2026, Swinney will be the last veteran.
