Nicola Sturgeon opens up about self-doubt 'superpower' ahead of memoir
The pieces discuss some of the hardest moments of her life and career, as well as conflicted feelings over motherhood and sexuality.
Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon In an interview with The Sunday Times, Sturgeon described herself as a 'public introvert' as she told the paper: 'I am somebody who can come alive on a stage in front of thousands of people, but put me at a dinner table with four people and I will struggle much, much more.'
When asked about the theme of self-doubt running throughout her memoir, she said: 'I spent the earlier part of my life thinking it was a great handicap. I actually came to think it was my secret superpower.
'It definitely drives you on. You work harder. So I wouldn't change it. I don't know that I'd have got as far in politics without it, actually.'
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The interview also touched on the importance of emotional intelligence for politicians, with Sturgeon telling the paper: 'I think politics sucks it out of people. I also think people with very low emotional intelligence are probably disproportionately attracted to the status.
'I guess it kind of sits with narcissism. I've come across them all my life in politics, people who exude this kind of superiority complex.'
When asked who she believed had the least emotional intelligence in politics, Sturgeon replied: "Probably Boris Johnson. Boris is literally the only person in his universe. I may be being horribly unfair to him, but you get the sense that everybody else is just furniture, or bit players in his drama."
Former prime minister Boris Johnson Elsewhere, Sturgeon also spoke about seeking professional counselling in 2024. When asked why she had never done therapy before, she told the Sunday Times: "I'm from the west of Scotland. We don't do things like that! Working-class west of Scotland, Ayrshire, my God, I would never have.
"And I suppose part of me would have worried that people would have thought, if I did, that I wasn't up to the job".
She added: "It didn't cure everything, but it brought back my sense of perspective and equilibrium. It just gave me the ability to talk it through."
READ MORE: Inside the growing movement to boycott Israel in communities across Scotland
The former first minister also said she was excited about the next chapter in her life.
'I feel happier than I've possibly ever felt,' she told The Sunday Times.
'A future where I can go anywhere, live anywhere I want, form new relationships. I can meet new people, I can do new things, I can find out what it is I want to do with the rest of my life.'
The former first minister hinted towards moving away from Scotland, telling the paper: "I've always loved London."
In a fresh excerpt from her memoir, Sturgeon claimed Alex Salmond, her predecessor as first minister, may have leaked details about an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
The former first minister told the Sunday Times that while she wished Salmond could have read her memoir, she did not think it would have made "the blindest bit of difference to him".
And in an extract published on Friday, Sturgeon discussed her arrest in 2023, describing it as 'mental torture' and that she thought about "disappearing into the North Sea".
She opened up more about her experience with the Sunday Times, describing the period after her arrest as "the worst week of my life".
Sturgeon served as Scotland's first minister between 2014 and 2023.
Her memoir, Frankly, will be published on Thursday.
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