A week ago Humza Yousaf climbed to his zenith as he was sworn in as Scotland’s new first minister.
It was a historic moment loaded with personal and political significance.
And it was one that was supposed to signal the end of the dominance in Scottish public life of Nicola Sturgeon and her husband, recently departed SNP chief executive Peter Murrell.
Yesterday that illusion was shattered by an unprecedented police operation in a smart Glasgow suburb.
The arrest of Ms Sturgeon’s husband of 13 years in connection with a probe into the funding and finances of the SNP would always have sent shockwaves barrelling through the Scottish establishment.
But the sheer scale and visibility of the police operation at the former first minister’s home address and, separately, at SNP headquarters in Edinburgh was such it immediately became the only story in town.
While it sent tongues wagging across political and public life, yesterday’s events do not mean a crime has been committed or indeed that Mr Murrell has any responsibility if illegality has occurred.
Mr Murrell is an innocent man until and unless it is proven otherwise. And it is vital that due process is followed until such times as this situation is resolved.
However, there is an immediate and quantifiable impact of Mr Murrell’s arrest. And it is to cast a shadow over the new first minister’s first days in office.
Murrell arrest a challenge for SNP’s new leader
For many, Mr Yousaf’s administration was already on the back foot after a bruising leadership contest and Kate Forbes’ subsequent departure from Cabinet.
As a result, the need to right the heavily listing SNP ship was high on the first minister’s agenda.
Mr Yousaf’s task was always a daunting one.
Regardless of developments with Mr Murrell, the job he is now facing is one at which even Hercules might balk.
As starts to a new political epoch go, it is inauspicious at best.
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