HUMZA Yousaf’s decision to end the Bute House Agreement with the Scottish Greens marked a major milestone in Scottish politics.
Douglas Ross confirmed at FMQs on Thursday he would be lodging a vote of no confidence while Anas Sarwar also said he would be putting forward a no confidence motion in the Scottish Government.
While the event was widely covered across the Scottish media, it was also picked up by a number of outlets across the globe.
The New York Times
The New York Times was among the outlets in the US to cover the story, noting that the powersharing agreement had “ended abruptly”.
It also said that the ending of the deal marked a “fresh period of turmoil for the SNP” before going on to explain more about the vote of no confidence.
READ MORE: Humza Yousaf cancels speech on independence after confidence vote row
In terms of why it was happening now, the piece pointed to some Greens' unhappiness about the pausing of the prescription of puberty blockers as well as a recent reversal on climate change commitments.
SNP Energy Secretary Mairi McAllan (below) confirmed the Government was scrapping the target of cutting carbon emissions by 75% by 2030.
Toronto Star
Canada’s largest online news site was also among those to cover Thursday’s big news.
Much like The New York Times, it pointed to the rolling back on climate commitments as one of the main reasons relations between the SNP and Greens had soured.
It also spoke of the upcoming General Election and noted that Labour “could be on course to win a majority” should it be able to “grab a sizeable chunk of seats in Scotland”.
Politico Europe
The European edition of the news organisation Politico also covered the news with an article titled “how a climate U-turn broke the Scottish Government”.
As well as reporting on the climate U-turn, it also noted that other figures within the SNP had previously been critical of the deal with the Greens, such as former SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes.
READ MORE: What happens when you lose a no confidence vote in the Scottish Parliament?
It also noted that, given the news that the Scottish Greens, Scottish LibDems, Scottish Labour and Scottish Tories have all said they’ll back the no confidence motion, Yousaf’s job is in “acute peril”.
The Washington Post
Another major US news outlet to pick up on the news was The Washington Post, which led with the headline “Scottish leader faces battle for survival after ending powersharing deal over climate change clash”.
It pointed out to its readers that the agreement had been shared between two parties who back Scotland’s independence from the UK.
It also commented on the fact that Alba MSP Ash Regan (above) could play a deciding role in the no confidence vote depending on what happens.
“She has indicated that she would seek to extract a price from Yousaf in order to back him in the no-confidence vote,” the paper said.
Regan has written to the First Minister saying that her “door is open” when it comes to her support.
El Mundo
One of Spain's newspapers of record, El Mundo reported the news under the headline "Nationalists left alone and in free fall in Scotland".
It noted that "Unionist forces have taken advantage of the moment of weakness to present a motion of no confidence". in Yousaf as first minister.
EL Mundo added: "If the Unionists had the support of the Green Party and the Alba Party, led by former nationalist leader Alex Salmond, Yousaf could be 'censured' by his own Parliament, which would trigger a crisis with unforeseeable consequences".
Le Monde
The French media giant reported that Yousaf had been fighting "for his political life in the wake of his decision to pull the plug on a three-year power-sharing agreement".
In a report on Friday, Le Monde noted that Scottish Labour's no-confidence motion in the government could lead to early Holyrood elections
It further quoted Anas Sarwar (below), the Scottish Labour group leader, who disingenuously claimed Yousaf was an "unelected first minister".
Der Spiegel
The famous German current affairs magazine Der Spiegel reported that Yousaf would "lead a minority government" after the deal with the Greens broke down due to row over climate targets and puberty blocker prescriptions for minors.
It cited commentators as saying Yousaf had ended the agreement in a bid to boost the SNP's profile ahead of upcoming elections.
The German publication further contrasted the goals of the "left-liberal Scottish regional government" with the "conservative British central government in London", noting that the two had diverged on issues such as climate policy.
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