Nicola Sturgeon announced this Wednesday her intention to step down as prime minister of Scotland, the “greatest job in the world”.
“I announce my intention to step down as Prime Minister and leader of my party,” Nicola Sturgeon said at a press conference in Edinburgh.
“I will remain in office until my successor is elected’ clarified the, still, leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP, in the English acronym).
Sturgeon, 52, called the job the “best job in the world” and considered himself privileged, but said you need to know “when the time is right to pave the way for someone else”.
He stated that the decision came after a “deeper assessment” and that it is not a response to recent pressure, although he acknowledged that the pandemic was the most difficult moment he has faced as prime minister. “The weight of the responsibility was enormous,” he recalls.
He stressed the impact the role of head of government has on private life, as it is necessary to have “energy” in political leadership to meet the challenges of the future, referring in particular to the independence referendum.
He said it was his duty to leave office at a “critical moment” after the UK Supreme Court rejected a second independence referendum in November last year, a “democratic outcry”, he classified.
“Can I continue, can I give the maximum to this function, the maximum energy as I have done in recent years, my conclusion, no matter how much it costs me, I have an obligation to say no,” he explained.
He guaranteed that he will continue to fight for the independence cause and was proud of the work done in recent years. “Scotland is fairer today than it was in 2015. I am very proud, but there is always so much more to do.”
Without hiding her emotion, Sturgeon thanked her husband and family and, addressing the Scots, reinforced: “being your prime minister has been the privilege of my life”.
The outgoing Prime Minister he said he believed his “successor will lead Scotland to independence”.
He reiterated that the decision to resign is a duty to the country as he believes he does not have the necessary energy to continue in the role of prime minister.
“I could go on for a few more months, six months, maybe a year, but I know that over time I will have less and less energy to devote to the work,” Sturgeon admits. “I owe it to the country to say it now,” he declared.
Sturgeon has been at the head of the Scottish Government since November 2014, when he replaced Alex Salmond, following the referendum on Scotland’s independence from the United Kingdom – the “No” won by 55.3%.
In January, the British government vetoed a bill that aimed to facilitate the process of gender reassignment from the age of 16 in Scotland, defending the decision with the “guarantee of the safety of women and children”. The Prime Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP viewed this decision by the British government as a “frontal attack” on the autonomy of the Scottish Parliament.
Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation decision surprised political analysts, according to the AP, despite the ongoing controversy over the gender reassignment issue.
Sturgeon vowed to take the UK government to court for blocking the bill, arguing that the Conservative UK government committed a “deep error” in vetoing the gender recognition reform bill.
Hailed as a milestone by transgender rights activists, the bill would allow people aged 16 and over in Scotland to change the gender on their identity documents by self-declaration, making a medical diagnosis of gender dysphoria obsolete.
It should be recalled that the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom ruled in November last year that the Scottish Regional Parliament could not legislate to hold a second referendum on the independence of the British province at the request of the Home Rule Government.
Sturgeon at the time expressed her “disappointment” with the decision, but stated that the voice of nationalists would not be silenced. He then defended that the country’s next general election would serve as a referendum on independence.
“We must and will find another democratic, legal and constitutional way for the Scottish people to express their will. In my opinion, this can only be elections,” the Scottish Prime Minister said at the time.
Scotland is part of the United Kingdom but, like Wales and Northern Ireland, has its own semi-autonomous government with broad powers in areas such as health.
With Lusa
Source: DN
