You just can’t get away from Nicola Sturgeon at the moment. Never one to shy away from the cameras at the best of times, she has been everywhere over the past few days – radio, tv, newspapers – and there seems to be no escape from her pursed lips and her Ayrshire accent booming out over the airwaves.
The reason for all this activity, as any fule kno, is that she is punting her autobiography, entitled ‘Frankly’, for which she has been paid a hefty advance and granted serialisation rights by the Times, arguably Britain’s best known, left-leaning centrist newspaper, the voice – or reading material of choice – of the Establishment. Good for her.
I have to say from the outset, though, that her various interviews have not gone particularly well. In fact some have rated them so poorly that they are likening them to the disastrous Prince Andrew interview at the hands of Emily Maitlis, an egregious failure to read the room which must now be on the syllabus of every journalism and media course around the world, and from which he has never recovered.
The main problem with Ms Sturgeon’s media appearances is that she appears to have been badly prepared for some of the questions that have been posed. Whether this is her or her publicist’s fault is a moot point, but if the latter then a rapid change of personnel is called for.
For one who had always appeared so surefooted with the media during her soon-to-be former political career, she has been hesitant and stumbling when pressed on certain topics, appearing unable (or unwilling) to recall facts that might not present her in a favourable light.
Her recollections on her interplay with Alex Salmond, for example, her onetime friend and mentor turned mortal enemy, are confused and oftentimes contradictory. The truth is that he made her, and then she unmade him, in the flurry of accusations and counter-accusations over his alleged inappropriate behaviour towards some of his female colleagues. As we know he was cleared of all charges in court, but the rift was never mended.
She also took a major mis-step in her championing of transgender and self-ID ideology for reasons that she has failed to fully explain in her interviews. How could such a competent operator have allowed herself to be captured by the small but vocal group of gender warriors around her to the extent that only the UK government’s Section 35 Order prevented her government implementing the clearly flawed Gender Recognition Reform Bill in Scotland? Perhaps her recent revelation that she doesn’t consider herself to be a binary person might be part of the answer.
Nonetheless, her personal crusade for transgender rights, coupled with her perceived failure to promote the cause of Scottish independence – the very raison d’etre of her party – led to serious schisms in the SNP and broader independence movement, and heralded the beginning of the end of the road for her. And then came the scandal of missing party funds, the camperwagon, and her and her husband’s arrest by Police Scotland. She was released with no charges brought but had already resigned as party leader and First Minister, her political career in tatters.
Finally, in her book she has fallen foul of the modern scourge of over-sharing. We can all sympathise with the loss of her baby through miscarriage but we really don’t need to know that she disposed of the embryo by flushing it down the lavatory. Nor do we need to be informed about her sexuality – that’s her business and should remain private.
And so the woman whose star shone so brightly in the political firmament is reduced to trotting around the studios trying to sell copies of her book. It may help the sales, but the reputational damage she is heaping upon herself is probably irreparable.
There is one further paradox. Ms Sturgeon has let it be known that she “can’t breathe” in the goldfish bowl of Scottish civil life, and would like to move away “for a wee while”. I think this is entirely fair enough after her long stint in the political limelight north of the Border.
It’s a tad surprising though, that her declared favoured destination might be London. A woman who has spent her entire adult life to date campaigning to separate Scotland from England now wants to move there? Seen through the political prism it seems a strange choice.
In truth I feel a bit sorry for her, and if I were her media adviser or publicist I’d tell her to pull the plug on all future interviews until the dust settles. But I don’t think she will, the pull of fame and celebrity will be too strong a force to resist.
On a personal level, though, I wish her well.
Stuart Crawford is a political and social commentator and former SNP member.
Stuart Crawford is a political and defence commentator, former SNP member, and retired army officer. Sign up for his podcasts and newsletters at www.DefenceReview.uk
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