Long before Elon Musk gave government efficiency a bad name, I had an idea.

It had been festering since shortly after John Swinney became First Minister and installed Kate Forbes as his deputy, as well as tasking her with fixing the economy. For those of us operating in and around politics, it was immediately obvious that the Swinney/Forbes government intended to present as a fresh break from the past, much like a newly elected government of a different political party.

It also appears to be the case that this is about more than the Scottish Parliament elections in May of next year. Thanks to the dramatic downturn in Labour’s support since it entered government in Westminster last summer, the SNP appears to be have been handed a fifth straight victory. Mr Swinney, far from being the caretaker installed to guide the SNP to a graceful defeat, has the look of a man who sees that election merely as a waymarker. Everything he and Ms Forbes do looks like part of a far more ambitious strategy, to properly lay the foundations for independence to be the positive choice of a large majority of the population.

The timing, from the perspective of an independence supporter, is actually fairly good. There are hurdles, for sure. At times of great uncertainty, such as the financial crash, or the pandemic, or now the havoc of the Trump presidency, there is a tendency to seek safe harbour with the devil you know.

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