Can Alex Salmond shake up yesterday’s men’s label with the release of a new show?

The former First Minister, now leader of the Alba Party, is trying to put his days on Vladimir Putin’s ‘Russia Today’ behind him by returning to the big screen, so to speak.

Mr Salmond’s new chat show will only be available on social media platforms including Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, as the former SNP chief remains obsessed with being relevant in a political world that has evolved significantly since his heyday remain.

Expect the same awkward smiles and awkward on-screen chemistry that are also known for the first attempt at becoming a broadcaster.

READ ALSO: Alex Salmond Reboots His Broadcasting Career With A Social Media-Only Show

Mr Salmond holds the restart in close circle, with Allan MacAskill, brother of Alba MP Kenny MacAskill, being interviewed as part of a wide-ranging survey of Scotland’s renewable energy potential.

Before Mr Salmond stood trial and was acquitted of all sexual misconduct charges against him, the former MP and MSP caused a stir with his original Alex Salmond show.

The chat show, with some scathing hosts from Mr Salmond and co-host and former SNP MP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh, was broadcast on the Kremlin’s state-run TV channel Russia Today.

This was problematic for obvious reasons that were not apparent to Mr Salmond.

It also caused headaches for political parties, particularly the SNP, as Salmond’s allies and incumbent politicians wanted to attend, despite obvious moral reasons for not appearing on RT.

Through his time in Westminster and Holyrood, Mr Salmond developed relationships with politicians from all parties and seems to continue to do so.

The opposition parties wasted no time in getting into the RT situation, which backfired spectacularly for LibDems when Vince Cable unexpectedly appeared on the show for a week to slam his book, much to the dismay of a party spokesman, who admitted it was “not helpful”. .

Read more: LibDems squirm as former leader Sir Vince Cable appears with Alex Salmond on the ‘Putin Propaganda’ channel

Mr Salmond’s ability to attract some of his former SNP colleagues to appear on RT shows he still has some clout in his former party and the broader Yes movement – but it’s clearly a dwindling stock.

The restart of his broadcasting career comes at a time when the SNP is plummeting in the polls over the party’s financial scandal – perhaps it’s a deliberate move.

🗓️ Thursday, July 13 at 9 p.m

🔗 Social networks and subscriptions ➡️ https://t.co/0rDnAR8xcQ#ScotlandSpeaks with @AlexSalmond 🏴xnxxthird-party pic.twitter.com/wKnZJpjAzG

— Scotland talks to Alex Salmond (@AlexSalmondShow) July 11, 2023

Before Mr Salmond, the SNP was far from a serious political entity, as was the campaign for Scottish independence.

Mr Salmond helped shift the SNP to the left, agreeing with disaffected Labor voters.

As early as 1979, Mr. Salmond was expelled from the SNP as a prominent member of the “79er Group” for attempting to transform the party into a socialist one.

READ ALSO: Alex Salmond: “No Regrets” About Broadcast On Kremlin TV Channel Despite War In Ukraine

It is now somewhat ironic that Mr Salmond is seen by many in the yes movement as a regressive force, backing down from his efforts to turn the SNP into a left party, progressive measures such as gender recognition reforms and more drastic measures to resisting overcoming the climate crisis.

The SNP under Mr Salmond arguably had its best years when it saw Scottish independence as a very real possibility and the party rose to become the government and the dominant political force in Scotland.

But how much of that has to do with Mr Salmond? If we look at what happened after Mr Salmond left the party, little or nothing depended on him.

READ ALSO: Alex Salmond’s RT Program Suspended Until ‘Peace Is Restored’

Under Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP continued to dominate the political landscape in Scotland, an incredible feat considering how long the party has been in power in Holyrood, while support for independence has remained high but fairly consistent.

But Mr. Salmond has never given up being part of the movement that made or arguably created him, even if large parts of this campaign no longer want or need him.

Electorally speaking, Salmond’s new emergence as leader of Alba was disastrous.

The party has failed to make a breakthrough in either election and its two MPs, both of whom have quit the SNP, are likely to lose their jobs in the next Westminster election – putting the party on a path to absolute nothing .

Mr Salmond was cleared of any criminal conduct following his high-profile trial in 2020.

But during that process, Mr Salmond’s defense team admitted behavior that is inappropriate for any elected politician. His lawyer, Gordon Jackson, acknowledged that the ex-First Minister acted “inappropriately” at times, but stressed that it was not criminal.

READ ALSO: Alex Salmond Dodges Questions About Past ‘Inappropriate’ Behavior Toward Women

He added that Mr Salmond had “misbehaved” and could have been a “better man”.

Meanwhile, Mr Salmond’s former speechwriter and advisor, Alex Bell, who was summoned to testify by Mr Salmond’s defence, described Mr Salmond as “a creep”.

The admissions by Mr Salmond’s legal team raise the argument that he has no place in modern Scottish politics – that he is a yesterday’s man and an unfit figure to hold public office.

Mr Salmond’s troubled legacy outside the SNP was highlighted in an appearance on the BBC’s Question Time last month, in another attempt to bring Mr Salmond back onto the political landscape.

Mr Salmond was on the show alongside SNP Net Zero secretary Mairi McAllan – a very capable minister who was quickly placed in key government roles by both Ms Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf.

During that show, Mr. Salmond liked to boast that the SNP had done “many, many good things in government” since 2007.

He then claimed that Ms McAllan “got the short end of the stick” by having to defend the “very difficult position” the SNP finds itself in with regard to its finances.

When asked if she felt that way, Ms McAllan, who almost laughed and appeared to laugh randomly at her party’s former leader, simply replied: “I’m very proud to be here as an SNP representative.”

Since his relationship with the SNP ended, Mr. Salmond has simply struggled to be relevant.

The need that Mr Salmond felt to rush to a TV appearance on a Russian propaganda channel, the apparent rush to set up an independence party outside the SNP, which apparently has no appetite from the electorate, simmers with desperation.

Rather than break up, Mr. Salmond desires to be part of the now.

But all he really needs to do is the past, which remains uncomfortable to some extent.

In the promo for his Twitter and Facebook show, which has been viewed around 600,000 times, Mr Salmond emphasizes that “understanding our past will help us determine our future”.

Maybe it’s just Alex thinking out loud.