After the Albatross: A New Start for the Scottish Parliament?

Leadership and Uncertainty Management in Politics

“…His inability to control rebellion within his own ranks proved lethal to the First Minister when he got caught in the row over his Westminster constituency expenses. His inability to resolve 'Officegate' in the eyes of the public and the media, describing his actions as 'a muddle, not a fiddle' led to his quick fall after only one year in office (Macdonell, 2009: 63-72 (Bort and Harvie, 2005). He also extended the reach of the Executive within Parliament by creating the posts of Ministerial Parliamentary Aides (MPAs) and by being personally involved in the selection of members and chairs of parliamentary committees, all of whose initiatives contributed to a useful extension of his patronage power (Keating and Carney, 2006).…”

“…Although a great deal of research (Arter, 2004;Bogdanor, 2001;Bort and Harvie, 2005;Jeffery and Mitchell, 2009;McCrone, 2005, McLean, 2001Mitchell, 2009;Paterson, 2000;Taylor, 1999;Trench, 2004;Trench, 2005) has been devoted to the functioning and achievements of the new Scottish Parliament, very few political comments have focused upon the executive power and the devolved ministers. More strikingly, the coverage and analysis of the position and achievements of the Scottish First Ministers since 1999 has been extremely limited.…”

The Scottish First Ministers from 1999 to 2014: Role, Power and Leadership

“…His inability to resolve the "Officegate" in the eyes of the public and the media, describing his actions as "a muddle, not a fiddle" led to his quick fall after only one year in office. 26 26 27 He also extended the reach of the Executive within Parliament by creating the posts of Ministerial Parliamentary Aides (MPAs) and by being personally involved in the selection of members and chairs of parliamentary committees, all of whose initiatives contributing to a useful extension of his patronage power. 28 Furthermore, McConnell also wanted to bind the Scottish bureaucracy closer to his Executive and accountable only to him, although it has remained part of the UK public If McConnell demonstrated political shrewdness and authority in extending the role and resources of the office of First Minister, he had more difficulties in imposing himself as a "national leader" toward Scottish opinion.…”