The Nicola Sturgeon problem of late

Twitter is currently being consumed by tweeters announcing to other tweeters that they are leaving Twitter, or at least preparing to leave Twitter, or alternatively stating that they are likely to stay on Twitter. It’s an elevated representation of what this platform does best: numbing self-immersion.

Twitter regular Nicola Sturgeon’s future plans for social media may be unknown to us at the moment, but from her performance this week, it looks like she’s not going anywhere. And it’s not as if the First Minister is a stranger to numbing self-absorption these days. A photo of her sitting on a sofa with Catherine Colonnade, the French foreign minister, at Cop 27, possibly taken by an officer lurking behind a nearby fern, was tweeted and retweeted by every possible SNP-related account. “WATCH ME MEET AN IMPORTANT PERSON FROM A BETTER BIG COUNTRY THAN BRITAIN,” screams the image.

And fair game. It wasn’t that long ago that we were giggling at Gordon Brown for chasing a reluctant Barack Obama into UN kitchens to secure a chat. Regardless of how high up they are, all politicians crave the catch and smile with someone who has bitten further up the global chain, who will sprinkle some glitter.

There are those who criticize Sturgeon for attending these summits, as if she is somehow overstepping the bounds of her position. This argument is as tiresome as it is stupid. In relation to Cop, the UN climate conference, the battle against climate change is being fought at every level, and in fact sub-national and even local innovations are just as important (and often more effective) than international agreements. The Scottish Government is among the most powerful devolved institutions in the world and has made major commitments to net zero greenhouse gas emissions. Of course he should be involved, and of course the First Minister, whoever holds the office and whatever party he represents, should be seen and heard.

What interests me more about Sturgeon’s performance in Sharm el-Sheikh, however, is how it fits into what we might describe as her nascent late period, these final years of her first ministry. She spent the conference advocating for rich countries to pay reparations that are sure to eventually run into billions, if not trillions, to those nations most affected by climate change. She has thoughtfully earmarked £5 million in ‘loss and damage’ cash from the overstretched Scottish budget – well, that’s a start. It will be interesting to see what impact her open generosity on behalf of the weak West has on future job prospects.

Whatever you think of the reparations proposal – and there are certainly arguments for it – it is consistent with Sturgeon’s recent shift away from the pragmatic, moderate governance and back to the radical left activism of her youth. Like other leaders in their recent forays to the top, she seems to be rejecting the compromises that marked her early years in the job in an effort to be more fully herself and shape her legacy into something she can live with.

[See also: Munira Mirza: “The constant briefing at Westminster is corrosive”]

Tony Blair did much the same in his last term, although this included stepping up reforms to the school and health systems. Sturgeon’s failure in these technically difficult policy areas is so total that there is no point in starting now. Instead, she focused on issues of social justice that had always interested her more.

The consequence is that the late Sturgeon looks more like a Scottish Green First Minister than a mainstream SNP. My initial assessment of her takeover of the Greens in government last year – that it was a rather cheap attempt to shore up the independence movement and freeze Alex Salmond’s troubled wing – now seems to me to be wrong, or at least only part of the point. Since then, Sturgeon has abruptly turned her back on the Scottish oil and gas industry, shown even less interest than usual in economic growth despite the dire state of the Scottish economy, and pushed through gender identity legislation while quite brazenly ignoring the reasonable concerns of many women about its potential impact. This version of Sturgeon – and perhaps the most authentic we’ve seen – has more political common ground with Patrick Harvey than with many of her backbenchers. No wonder the Greens co-leader seems so comfortable as part of her administration – he hardly needs to try.

When I brought up the comparison of tailed Blair to a politically astute friend, she disagreed. “I think Sturgeon is a lot more like Thatcher towards the end,” she said. “Blair always tried to take people with him, even in death. But she just does what she likes, is dismissive and even rude to those who hold alternative views, and seems to have given up trying to convince people. And what can I tell you, that rarely ends well. It wasn’t for Thatcher.

Sturgeon’s astonishingly ill-judged public reaction to the resignation of Ash Regan, the community safety minister, over gender equality reforms last month seems to confirm this: she is a leader who has forgotten how to treat people and who is increasingly arrogant and self absorbed. She openly states that she “loathes the Tories and everything they stand for”, which is both offensive to much of the electorate and bordering on the juvenile.

She was bad at TV interviews and parliamentary appearances, as if these forms of accountability were beneath her. Perhaps the unwelcome prospect of a Labor government in Westminster and the fading prospect of Scottish independence spooked her. However, the early years of her leadership, during which she often spoke of reaching out to those who did not necessarily share her politics, seem very distant.

Sturgeon’s prospects after government are her own concern, and her most likely role is probably that of some kind of social justice campaigner. There are worse things out there, and plenty of well-funded NGOs that would no doubt be happy to have it. But it could be argued that her recent behavior has shown a talent for closing minds rather than opening them, and that while she will remain in office, it creates a rather bleak national outlook. Advocacy at any level requires passion and faith, but also the art of persuasion, personal humility and the ability to understand others’ perspectives. It’s hard to recognize much of this in Nicola Sturgeon of the late period, which to me at least is a curious and sad thing.

[See also: Rishi Sunak can’t escape the Tories’ post-truth policies]