Yesterday, the Scottish Parliament elected Hamza Yusuf, the new leader of the “Scottish National Party”, as head of the British provincial government, which he aspires to lead towards independence from London.
And Youssef, who won the party ballot on Monday under the leadership of the Scottish National Party, will officially assume his new position today, Wednesday, becoming the first Scottish prime minister of immigrant and Muslim origins.
Youssef succeeds Nicola Sturgeon, who suddenly announced her resignation last month after eight years in power.
Hamza Yusuf, whose ancestors immigrated from Pakistan to Glasgow 60 years ago, will officially assume his duties on Wednesday after being appointed by royal decree and sworn in before the Scottish High Court.
“It is a proud day for me and my family, and I hope it will also be a proud day for Scotland because it is the perfect expression of our values,” he said emotionally after the vote.
He takes office at a time when the campaign for independence is at a standstill.
But his mission seems thorny, as confirmed by British newspapers yesterday. The Telegraph newspaper considered that the departure of Sturgeon, who had great charisma, meant “the end of the heroic period” of the Independent Party.
And Youssef said after winning the party’s vote on Monday, “We will be the generation that will achieve the independence of Scotland,” stressing that the Scottish “people” “need independence from now on, more than ever.”
However, a spokesman for the British Prime Minister said that Rishi Sunak “looks forward to working” with the new leader of the Scottish National Party, but he rejects the latter’s call for a new referendum on independence.
But support for independence, which is at the heart of the SNP’s platform, is stagnating. According to a poll conducted by YouGov on March 13, 46% of those polled expressed their support for independence (compared to 50% last month).