So, that was that. Holyrood’s flagship showdown – after months of, err, anticipation – is done and dusted.
And thank goodness. What a tiresome spectacle it has become.
Over the recess, many longed for the return of the bustle and bluster of the weekly debate. Now it has come back it is hard to see why.
The endless back and forth with no one answering or really asking the right questions.
The collective sighs when an SNP member opens with – “First Minister, would you agree…?” The answer, as you can imagine, is as uninspired and scripted as the question.
Then there’s the length.
The new Presiding Officer, Ken Macintosh, doubtless had the best of intentions when he extended FMQs to 45 minutes.
If you’re a backbencher it gives you that extra glimmer of limelight. If you’re a spectator it makes you want to shut the door even more quickly.
Even the addition of wild card questions – they sound much more exciting than they are – failed to brighten the contest.
Having MSPs being able to ask off-the-cuff questions – normally they have to be written in advance – should allow for cut throat debate.
In truth, it prolongs and dries out already tedious and arid discourse.
Of course, there were some rays of light. The first minister and Kezia Dugdale continued something of their post-Brexit rapprochement, with the latter asking probing but polite questions.
Otherwise, however, there were few highlights.
Perhaps MSPs were just rusty from their break, their minds still salivating over beaches and pina coladas.
For the sake of the next nine months, we must hope so.
