With Kate Forbes going who will be the SNP’s next rising star?
Four years ago, in the build-up to the 2021 Holyrood election, the SNP were riding high after a succession of 20 opinion polls registered majority support for independence.
Nicola Sturgeon had asserted her "leader of Scotland" dominance during the supremely testing times of Covid.
Among SNP supporters optimism was surging, and among SNP opponents apprehension was mounting that a nationalist majority in the election could lead to unstoppable momentum for another referendum, with the result hanging in the balance and the outcome liable to tip either way.
How times have changed.
The colourful and spirited marches which used to be a regular feature in Inverness and elsewhere have dried up completely, the party prepares for 2026 after losing most of its Westminster MPs in 2024, and now Kate Forbes has decided to join the exodus of SNP politicians who won't contest next year's election.
Tipped as a possible and, indeed, likely successor to John Swinney, she was described by Fergus Ewing as "the best leader the SNP never had". Inverness constituency MP Angus MacDonald, despite being a political rival, previously told me he likes and admire Ms Forbes. He certainly wasn't alone in harbouring those sentiments.
In any leadership contest after the 2026 election she would have again become embroiled in controversy over her religious beliefs as happened when she was defeated - much to the relief of Unionists - by hapless Humza Yousaf in the last SNP leadership contest.
But if she had won the next one she'd have been a bright and shining star emerging over the horizon compared to the vaguely competent but dull Yousaf and Swinney.
She would have faced a Herculean task even in trying to restore SNP support and morale to previous levels, but she'd have been their best hope.
Independence won't be won by endless complaints about the iniquities of Westminster and its "callous indifference to Scotland". The grievance issues have been played out ad nauseam and have got the SNP nowhere. The cause needs an inspirational champion with broad appeal who can rise to a monumental challenge.
Alex Salmond was hugely impressive in his heyday. Even after he stepped down in 2014 he still retained his lustre. He came to Inverness for a book signing one Sunday at Waterstones in the Eastgate Centre and there was a 200-yards long queue for several hours of people waiting patiently to meet him. And as I wrote at the time, every single one of them left smiling. Nicola Sturgeon when she came to Inverness after being elected leader filled the High Street with her ecstatic fans almost from end to end.
As the ifs and buts rebound around the identity of the next SNP leader Kate Forbes might not have received quite so much acclaim but there's no doubt that her first appearance in the Highland capital as party leader would have been a significant event.
As she prepares to depart to fully enjoy the pleasures of young motherhood, she said she may return to politics sometime in the future, maybe in 20 years.
The SNP don't have the luxury of a two-decade timeframe as they cast around for a potential successor in the event of John Swinney's departure, with no-one of Kate Forbes' calibre and appeal anywhere in sight.