The manner of her resignation as Scotland’s pro-independence first minister demonstrated why Nicola Sturgeon is one of Britain’s most effective politicians — and one of the few to be recognised overseas. Her admission that leadership “takes its toll” echoed last month’s departure of New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern, who similarly gained prominence through her empathetic handling of Covid-19. But Sturgeon conceded that the fact she has become a polarising figure at home no longer benefits the cause to which she has devoted her career. The Scottish National party leader leaves office with her goal of independence closer than when she began, but unachieved. Despite the antipathy felt towards her by supporters of the union, Sturgeon will go down as one of the pre-eminent Scottish public figures of the era. Her brand of nationalism, associating it not with social conservatism but with progressive politics, chimed with many Scots voters. After she succeeded Alex Salmond as SNP leader following the unsuccessful 2014 independence referendum, the party swept all but three Scottish seats in a general election a year later. When the Brexit plebiscite put the UK on a path to exiting the EU, Sturgeon capitalised on Scotland’s 62 per cent Remain vote to recast and reinforce the independence case.
支持苏格兰独立的妮古拉•斯特金(Nicola Sturgeon)辞去苏格兰首席大臣一职的方式，说明了为什么她是英国最杰出的政治人物之一，也是为数不多得到海外认可的政治人物之一。她承认担任领导人“耗神费力”，这与上个月杰辛达•阿德恩(Jacinda Ardern)卸任新西兰总理形成了呼应，阿德恩也因感同身受地处理新冠疫情而赢得声望。但斯特金承认，她在苏格兰已成为一个导致两极分化的人物，这不再有利于她在整个政治生涯中所投身的事业。这位苏格兰民族党(Scottish National party)领导人离任时，比她上任时更接近苏格兰独立的目标，但仍未实现。