Salmond changed Scotland forever ..without him the SNP would be in permanent opposition, howling at the moon

A great talent but tainted by party splits and that court case

- PAUL HUTCHEON

ALEX Salmond was the most gifted Scottish politician of the last 50 years.

Most MPs and MSPs come and go without a trace and leave behind no legacy of any substance.

Salmond changed Scotland forever and the country we have today is largely cast in his own image.

In 1990, the year he was first elected as SNP leader, the party was on the margins of Scottish politics.

He dragged an unreconstructed SNP into the TV age and elbowed himself onto the front pages.

Disrupting Nigel Lawson's 1988 budget was an early sign of his flair and his political career was marked by acts of daring.

By the time he quit in 2000, the SNP was the main opposition party at Holyrood and they had their foot in the door.

But it was his second spell in charge, between 2004 and 2014, that rocked Scotland to the core.

He modernised the SNP in the run-up to the 2007 election by learning from previous defeats.

Salmond courted business, wooed trade unions and developed close links with the Press.

The SNP's historic victory was down to him and it was the turning point for the modern SNP.

The minority administration he led from 2007-11 may rank as his most impressive political achievement.

Salmond was a political bruiser but he was able to win key votes and push through his budgets through deft negotiation.