Kate Forbes made history on a Budget day that was unlike any other.
At 29, the Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch MSP became the youngest politician to deliver a Scottish Budget since devolution, and the first woman to do so in Holyrood or Westminster.
And she did it despite having had less than 24 hours notice to prepare, in the wake of the shock departure of her friend and boss, Finance Secretary Derek Mackay.
The first line of her speech, which was presumably written for or by Mr Mackay, said the Budget would offer “vision and leadership at a crucial moment for our country”.
In fact, it often felt more like it was Ms Forbes who was offering leadership at a crucial time for her party, providing a ray of light on an otherwise dark day for the SNP.
Her performance was so assured, even described as “feisty” by one colleague, that Nicola Sturgeon will now be under pressure to give her the second most important job in government on a permanent basis.
Conservative MSP Miles Briggs described it as the “longest job interview in history”, but if it was, the public finance minister showed no nerves, while flanked by the first minister and deputy first minister, and surrounded by potential rivals for Mr Mackay’s former post.
With cameras trained on the qualified accountant, who was first elected to Holyrood in 2016 and appointed a minister in 2018, she spoke for 32 minutes, before taking questions for a further 47 minutes.
Of course, given the circumstances, the opposition parties were less hostile than they would have been towards Mr Mackay, with most complimenting her delivery.
Highland manners may also have played a part, as Dingwall-born Ms Forbes was first quizzed by Inverness-born Murdo Fraser of the Conservatives, and then Stornoway-born Rhoda Grant of Labour.
It was not really Ms Forbes’ Budget to defend, after all, and the harder task may still lie ahead, as it falls on the Gaelic-speaking Cambridge graduate to steer the tax and spending blueprint through parliament over the coming weeks.
But whatever happens next for the Budget or the young Highland MSP, it is certain to remain a day that will live long in her memory, and that of many others, for a variety of reasons.
