Scotland’s first minister has been a dominant political figure. But her resignation does not mean that independence is dead
Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation is a massive political event. We shall return to that. But it is also something more, and this too is massive. Her resignation is a warning. The warning is best summed up in 10 plain words spoken by Scotland’s first minister in her surprise announcement in Edinburgh on Wednesday: “I am a human being as well as a politician.”
Politicians do not ask for pity, love or praise. Too often, however, they get only cynicism, abuse and even, in another word carefully chosen by Ms Sturgeon this week, brutality. This is particularly true of women politicians, who still have to cope with intolerable attentions and pressures that men are often spared.
