Scottish leader Humza Yousaf on Monday announced his resignation as the possibility he might scrape a win in two no-confidence votes appeared to wane.
Yousaf’s leadership was plunged into trouble last week when he suddenly ended a power-sharing agreement between his Scottish National Party (SNP) and Scotland’s Green Party.
How did things go wrong?
The rift with the Greens came after a dispute over climate change, with Yousef having ditched Scotland’s goal of cutting carbon emissions by 75% by 2030.
That sparked tensions with the junior coalition partner and Yousaf jettisoned two Green ministers from his Cabinet and terminated a coalition pact.
While Yousaf had hoped to lead a minority government, opposition parties moved quickly to say they would not support him.
The SNP-Green deal, known as the Bute House Agreement after Yousaf’s official residence in Edinburgh, was signed in 2021.
It put the Green Party into government for the first time anywhere in the UK, where devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have limited powers.
These are in areas such as environment, health, transport, and social policy.
The SNP has struggled in the wake of the resignation last year of party leader Nicola Sturgeon.
The party has been dogged by infighting over how progressive it should be on issues such as transgender rights, as well as a campaign finance scandal rooted in Sturgeon’s time in office.
rc/wd (AFP, Reuters, dpa)
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