Pundits: Humza Yousaf's departure due to political failures, not racism

Faced with the likelihood of a parliamentary vote of no-confidence, Humza Yousaf has resigned as head of the Scottish government.

The 39-year-old became the first Scottish Asian and Muslim to hold the office of first minister – as the position is formally known in Scotland – about a year ago.

His early exit from the top office, along with his resignation as leader of the ruling Scottish National Party (SNP), was mainly caused by his recent decision to do away with a key climate change target for Scotland.

Speaking to TRT World, Coree Brown Swan of the University of Stirling said Yousaf's departure was likely not due to racism.

"Mr. Yousaf was dealt a very difficult hand, but I don't think his race or religion contributed to his departure. The election of the first Muslim national leader seemed a point of pride for a Scottish electorate, even as he was challenged from a party perspective," she said.

Swan added that racism persists in Scotland, and that Yousaf was subject to "horrific" abuse online. "But his claim to a Scottish identity was accepted by the population."

Climate pledge

The SNP-led Scottish government recently reneged on its prior commitment to cut the country's carbon emissions by 75 percent by 2030. The decision led to the termination of a power-sharing agreement between the SNP and its coalition partner, the Scottish Greens Party.

Yousaf was likely to lose a no-confidence motion as he needed votes from the Scottish Greens to hold onto power.

Saying that a route through the expected motion of no-confidence was "absolutely possible," Yousaf said on Monday he wasn't willing to strike deals with the coalition partners just to retain power.

"For a minority government to be able to govern effectively and efficiently, trust when working with the opposition is clearly fundamental," he said while addressing journalists at his official residence.

Humble beginnings

Yousaf's grandfather, an immigrant from the Punjab province of Pakistan, worked in a Singer sewing-machine factory in the 1960s. Yousaf's father, who trained as an accountant and worked with the SNP in Glasgow, sent his son to an elite private school.

After completing his master's in politics from the University of Glasgow in 2007, the future first minister took part in active politics from the SNP platform, eventually becoming a member of the Scottish parliament in 2011.

He held a number of cabinet positions and eventually succeeded Nicola Sturgeon in early 2023 when she resigned after nine years as first minister.

Support for Palestine

Yousaf gained widespread appreciation for his bold stance in favour of Palestine after Israel started a full-fledged war in Gaza that has killed more than 34,300 Palestinians, mostly women and children, since October.

His strong statements as head of government in a country where only 1.4 percent of the total population is Muslim helped highlight global support for the Palestinian cause.

"Israel has a right to protect itself from terror, but that cannot be at the price of innocent men, women and children who have nothing to do with those attacks," he said.

"That collective punishment has to be condemned."

Yousaf's parents-in-law were visiting a sick relative in Gaza last year when Israel started its indiscriminate bombing. They were among the 92 British nationals who Israel allowed to pass through the Rafah border crossing into Egypt early November.

Swan said Yousaf's early call for a ceasefire and his position on the Gaza war aligned well with public opinion in Scotland. "His resignation can be attributed to broader concerns about his competence as a leader, policy positions adopted by the SNP, and the nature of Scottish politics at this particular moment," she added.

University of Edinburgh Professor of Public Policy James Mitchell agreed. Speaking to TRT World, he said neither race nor religion had anything to do with the premature departure of Yousaf from the helm of the Scottish government.

The issues that resulted in Yousaf's decision to part ways with the Greens Party concerned identity politics as well as failures on climate crisis, he said.

"The Scottish Greens are very much in agreement with him on the Israel-Palestine issue," Mitchell said, adding that most people in Scotland shared Yousaf's view on the Gaza war.

In fact, one of Yousaf's main political opponents - Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar -highlighted in his reaction the "dignified way" in which the first minister acted when his loved ones faced danger in Gaza.

"The first minister’s stance on Israel-Palestine has been one of his strengths, an issue he is personally connected with," said Paul Anderson, senior lecturer in politics at Liverpool John Moores University.

Mixed legacy

Yousaf's meteoric rise in Scottish politics was as swift as his downfall. He's expected to continue as a member of the Scottish parliament and will likely support his successor.

But Anderson said Yousaf will not have a strong legacy, even though he remained vocal on issues like addressing poverty and the Israel-Palestine conflict.

"He will probably be remembered as having a challenging period as first minister, with debacles over hate crime legislation, gender recognition and the ending of the power-sharing agreement, which ultimately caused his resignation," the academic told TRT World.

"I don't envisage Yousaf being able to make any political comeback as leader of the SNP or Scottish first minister."