After house searches at Sturgeon: Scottish government in crisis

Staff unrest, party finance inconsistencies and police investigations keep the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP) in suspense. “In my 50 years with the party, this is the biggest and most challenging crisis we have ever faced,” current party leader Mike Russell told Scotland’s newspaper The Herald (Saturday).

Former Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon – who was in office until two weeks ago – told reporters outside her home near Glasgow on Saturday that the past few days “had obviously been difficult”, but she wanted to continue her work and look ahead. Her husband Peter Murrell, former SNP CFO and Russell’s predecessor, was removed from office and was sometimes arrested this week and questioned by police for about 12 hours. Investigators later set up a tent in front of the couple’s home and searched the property.

Surprisingly, after more than eight years in office, Sturgeon announced her resignation as party and government leader in February. In the election campaign that followed, the party presented itself as divided and sometimes chaotic. Now 37-year-old Humza Yousaf is at the helm, who is considered Sturgeon’s favorite candidate.

The main aim of the ruling SNP is to unlink Scotland from the UK and bring it back into the EU as an independent country. But with London blocking another referendum, the road is bumpy. “I don’t think we can achieve independence at the moment,” SNP president Russell said in an interview. It is necessary to form a new independence movement and promote the goal in a coordinated way. “It’s achievable,” Russell said. It is necessary to find a way. (sda/dpa)