The Scottish government survived a vote of no confidence on Wednesday, two days after the announcement of the resignation of Prime Minister and leader of the independence party Humza Yousaf.
The environmentalists had announced that they would abstain, and the motion triggered by the Labor Party failed, receiving 58 votes, with 70 elected officials voting against.
The opposite outcome would have forced the Prime Minister and his entire government to resign immediately and call elections to renew the Holyrood Parliament in Edinburgh.
Aged 39, Humza Yousaf therefore remains in power until the Scottish National Party (SNP) chooses his successor. Candidates have until Monday to declare themselves.
Several SNP heavyweights have already shown their support for John Swinney, 60, veteran of Scottish politics and deputy first minister to former Scottish head of government Nicola Sturgeon between 2014 and 2023.
Others are pushing the candidacy of Kate Forbes, 34, who lost to Humza Yousaf last year during the last internal ballot (48% against 52% of the votes). But Nicola Sturgeon’s former finance minister has not yet indicated whether she is taking the plunge.
To be designated Prime Minister, the future leader of the SNP must be elected by a majority of deputies. The SNP holds 63 seats out of 129, far ahead of the various opposition parties, but two votes short of an absolute majority.
The first Muslim leader at the head of a major political party in the United Kingdom, Humza Yousaf announced his resignation on Monday, faced with the impossibility of creating a new government coalition after becoming angry with his allies the Greens.
The SNP has largely dominated Scottish politics since 2007, but its popularity has waned considerably between the fading momentum for independence and the ongoing police investigation into the party’s finances.