Nicola Sturgeon has snubbed a memorial to Alex Salmond, saying she will remember him in private.
Tributes were paid to Mr Salmond at Holyrood on Wednesday when Member of the Scottish Parliament debated a special motion of condolence for the former first minister, who died at the age of 69 during a visit to North Macedonia.
The Alba Party leader suffered a heart attack just hours after delivering a speech about Scottish independence at a conference. Mr Salmond was laid to rest near his home in Aberdeenshire on Tuesday (October 29).
Leaders of Scoland’s political parties shared their memories of Mr Salmond and passed on their condolences to his family and friends during the session in the debating chamber.
But Ms Sturgeon failed to attend the event, telling STV she felt the loss of someone who for years was an “incredibly important” person in her life.
She added: “At the same time, I cannot pretend that the events of the past few years did not happen.
“At a very human level, I have been wrestling with how to pay appropriate respect to an individual who had a big impact on me – and on the life of the country – but in a way that feels right, and which does not distract from the grief of Alex’s family, who are the people who matter most right now.
“Weighing all this up, I have concluded that it is best for me to remember Alex privately.”
Ms Sturgeon was Mr Salmond’s deputy for a decade, but the pair fell out after taking the Scottish National Party (SNP) to power and securing an independence referendum in 2014.
While Ms Sturgeon was absent from the condolence event, Mr Salmond’s political rivals made time to deliver speeches about him.
Scottish Conservative leader Russell Findlay said that whatever views may be on Mr Salmond’s politics, “we can surely all recognise his duty and commitment to public service”.
Mr Findlay, who entered Holyrood in 2021, said he did not know Mr Salmond personally “but everyone in Scotland knew Alex Salmond the politician – nationalist or unionist, there was no ignoring him”.
Mr Findlay added: “As a former journalist I appreciated his flair for understanding how to grab attention and make headlines.”
Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said it is “hard to imagine the world of Scottish politics without Alex Salmond on our screens, on our airwaves on doorsteps or podiums”, and added that his “impact and legacy on Scottish politics could not be overstated”.
He said Mr Salmond was a parliamentary colleague of his father Mohammad Sarwar at Westminster, who was a Labour MP.
During this time, Mr Salmond tried to convince the Sarwars to “ditch the Labour Party and join the SNP” – with Mr Sarwar saying this demonstrated the “bold confidence” that allowed the former first minister to defy political odds.
First Minister John Swinney‘s motion recognised “the substantial and significant contribution (Mr Salmond) made over many decades to public life”.
He said: “Alex Salmond left an indelible mark on Scotland and on Scottish and United Kingdom politics and public life.”
Ms Sturgeon’s absence sparked fury on social media, with X users criticising the decision not to attend.
Wings Over Scotland wrote on the platform: “All she had to do was sit there quietly and not make it all about her. So she makes it all about her.”
Former Alba Party Westminster Leader and MP for Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath, Neale Hanvey, said in response to news Ms Sturgeon would not attend: “An ‘announcement’ was neither necessary nor appropriate.”
X-user Ian Stewart commented: “She’s still desperately seeking attention by making it about her. There’s no reason why she couldn’t have just kept quiet.”
Others defended the decisison, with X user Suzanne Senior commenting: “I think she has shown integrity in choosing not to attend, as her attendance could have taken the attention away from him.”
