As the clock ticks away towards the May 7th UK general elections, one politician stands hands and shoulders above the rest.
Her name is Nicola Sturgeon, the head of the Scottish National Party, or SNP. Sturgeon has mesmerised and attracted attention and loathing in equal measure. To English voters, she represents the virulent streak of Scottish nationalism that simply refuses to go away, to others she portrays politics at its best, with less hubris and more contrition. She has come to define and set the pace for other parties.
Whilst Voters across the UK are increasingly showing little appetite for the daily dose of boring run-of-the mill political verbiage from the conservatives, Labour and the UK independence party with their endless feckless political point scoring, hers has been a breath of fresh air.
She's a darling to voters in Scotland and she may well bag the most votes for the SNP in Scotland promising them goodies in the form of more devolved powers from Westminster and dangling them the tantalising prospect of a second referendum to decide their future.
She straddles the fine political line and knows how to wow the voters. Her message has been clear, concise and cryptic. She has continued to pound the conservatives on policy issues, for example the severe cuts on frontline services, and has vowed to keep them away from winning the elections. She has courted Labour and Ed Miliband and has even hinted of forming a coalition with them to defeat the conservatives.
Her genteel personality coupled with her grit and steely determination have endeared her to many and she has been able to successfully navigate the turbulent political waters and she and her party now hold the trump card to whoever will emerge victorious on May the 7th.
It will be interesting to watch how things pan out for her, the SNP and the people of Scotland.
If the latest polls are anything to go by, the SNP is projected to win 59 seats in Scotland which – if the estimates hold – will give them a bigger slice of the pie and make them the biggest party north of the border.
