Scotland’s chief minister, Nicola Sturgeon, proclaimed on Thursday the victory of her Scottish National Party (SNP) in the regional elections, and assured that she will seek a new independence referendum “when the Covid crisis passes.”
In a formal statement, the nationalist leader said that, in the absence of knowing the final results, there will be a clear majority in the regional Parliament in favor of independence – made up of her party and the Greens – and, therefore, “the people Scotland must decide its future when the COVID crisis passes “.
According to all indications, in the absence of the proportional distribution of seats being announced, the SNP will stay very close, but it will not reach the 65 parliamentarians who would give it an absolute majority.
However, the good result of the Greens, who expect around nine deputies, will give the nationalists of the SNP a more than enough cushion to form a government and demand a new consultation with the central government, after in 2014 the Scots had already rejected secession.
Sturgeon called the achievement of his formation, which will rule Scotland for the fourth consecutive term, as “extraordinary and historic”.
“As chief minister, my immediate task is to do everything possible to keep us all as safe as possible. We have not beaten the covid yet,” she said.
He then contrasted the results of the elections in Scotland, where “most people support a progressive and inclusive vision of the future”, with what happened in the municipal elections in England, which gave a strong boost to the conservative government of Boris Johnson.
“For this reason, the people of Scotland must decide their future when the COVID crisis passes. It is a matter of democratic principles,” he added, before recalling that the SNP and the Greens carried in their campaign commitments the celebration of a new referendum.
Johnson closed the door on Saturday to agree to a new independence consultation, arguing that it would be “irresponsible and reckless in the current context”, in an interview with the newspaper “The Telegraph”.
Sturgeon replied that “there is no democratic justification” for Johnson “to block the rights of the people” and said that if the “Tories” try to stop it in London “they will not go against the SNP, but against the will of the people of Scotland”.
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