As he became first minister almost a year ago, John Swinney knew he had to define himself.
A central figure in the governments of both Alex Salmond and Nicola Sturgeon, many Scots felt they already knew him.
He was the calm, bank-manager-like figure to the bombastic, free-wheeling Salmond.
As Nicola Sturgeon’s most loyal lieutenant, he was the trusted details man with a unique authority in the SNP government.
But as first minister, John Swinney could not allow himself to be defined by the role he adopted based on what each of his previous leaders needed from him.
With just two years between his appointment and the next election, defining himself was crucial.
And it’s his response to US President’s Donald Trump’s abandoning of Ukraine in its fight against Russia that may perhaps show the most obvious difference.
Those closest to Mr Swinney say his lodestar is delivery over political convenience. Gone are the days of ambitious – but undeliverable – headline grabbing promises of “world-leading” targets.
It prompted what appeared to be a rare split in the SNP over the weekend, when the party’s Westminster leader Stephen Flynn reacted to a row in the Oval Office between Mr Trump, his Vice President JD Vance and Ukrainian premier Volodymyr Zelensky.
Mr Flynn posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, saying Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer was “weak” and “better get back up off his knees and revoke that offer of a state visit”.
Mr Swinney pointedly refused to support the comments, which prompted an internal row.
One insider told me: “Stephen’s comments were cheap and ill-thought through. The first minister had been clear that we are supportive of the UK Government on this issue. That is the party’s position.”
Other SNP insiders described Mr Flynn’s initial response as “unfortunate”, but said Mr Swinney was quick to assert control, discussing the issue with colleagues over the weekend.
They pointed to comments from Arbroath and Broughty Ferry MP Stephen Gethins, the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesman, which were said to accurately describe the first minister’s position.
Mr Gethins had avoided calling for the offer of the state visit to be scrapped, instead saying Mr Trump’s behaviour put the “tone of the Prime Minister’s visit to the White House in a new light”.
‘John Swinney’s position is the SNP position’
Mr Gethins’ comments on Monday were initially reported as a call to cancel the state visit offered to the US President.
But party sources say his remarks were more measured than that.
He said the visit should be put on hold if Mr Trump continues to be “hostile” to Ukraine. A construction that is open to interpretation, and far from Mr Flynn’s immediate demand for the invite to be revoked.
A source said: “This is John Swinney’s position so it is the SNP’s position, regardless of what might be said on social media.”
Another explained his approach was informed by the “scars” from the SNP’s complicated past on foreign affairs issues.
It is an approach that is markedly different from the one that may have been taken by Mr Salmond.
Insiders pointed out that Mr Swinney is of the generation of SNP politician who bare the “scars” of Alex Salmond’s 1999 TV broadcast attacking Nato’s action in Serbia.
The party also remembers Mr Salmond’s comments in 2014 praising Vladimir Putin for his restoration of “a substantial part of Russian pride” – weeks before Russia invaded Crimea.
Mr Salmond’s subsequent decision to present a programme on RT, Russia’s state broadcaster, played a key role in the breakdown of his relationship with Nicola Sturgeon.
But Mr Swinney’s approach is also subtly different from how Ms Sturgeon may have approached it, politically if not in detail.
The former first minister rarely missed an opportunity to make disputes with the UK Government political.
“It would be politically easy to say the state visit should be cancelled,” one source said, adding: “There is a large section of the SNP who would be delighted with an attack on Starmer for cosying up to Trump”.
But they said this would be a clear breach of Mr Swinney’s lodestar – delivery.
Reshuffle
“What would that actually achieve? Very little,” the source said.
In the much-anticipated reshuffle at the top of the Scottish Government that is likely in the coming months, it is this commitment to delivery that is likely to drive appointments.
Some of those in cabinet may find themselves out of luck if their report card from the last 12 months doesn’t stack up.
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