A top about tackling the far right announced by John Swinney has been rejected as an offer to sow 'further division' in rival parties.
Political expert Sir John Curtice suggested that the top can be used to help the prime minister attack his pro-union political opponents if they are not present.
He also rejected the prospect that the top had some impact on voters at the next Holyrood elections in 2026.
Swinney announced the initiative at a press conference in Bute House, the official home of the Prime Minister in Edinburgh.
He also used the event to launch a highly formulated attack on Reform UK and his leader Nigel Farage, whom he accused of being 'an accomplice for the Russian agenda and an apologist for the Russian agenda'.
On BBC Good Morning Scotland, Sir John said that Mr. Swinney may try to emphasize that all parties should refuse to work with Reform UK.
He added: 'Reform is not a certain threat to the chances of the SNP in this election. If you look at where the reform of reform comes from, it is primarily those who voted for unionist parties in July and who did not vote in 2014.
'That brings us to the third and more perhaps Machiavellian Point, which I think Mr. Swinney wants to do, further distribution is to sow within the Unionist ranks.
John Swinney's attack on Nigel Farage is described as an attempt to distribute Unionist parties
John Curtice says that Nigel Farage is more for a tuning threat to the Scottish Labor leader Anas Sarwar
“In other words, he is looking for work and the conservatives to make contact with reform, which would, as a reform, would get an important representation in the Holyrood parliament, to make it more difficult – assuming that there is at least a kind of work recovery from where we are currently – for a minority politician, probably to support a minister's administration. '
Sir John said that the rise of the reform adds more difficulties for Mr Sarwar than Mr Swinney, who, according to him, would be aware that “politics it is advantageous to sow further division within the Unionist ranks.”
Asked if a refusal by parties to participate in the top can be used by the prime minister as “a stick to beat them with,” said Sir John: “Indeed, and especially for the conservatives this has been a particularly difficult issue.
“Reform has received a lot of support from them in July and since then they have received further support from them.”
Sir John also said that it is' difficult to believe that this kind of top will have so much impact on reform support ', and the party is doing well to be outside the system'.
During Wednesday's press conference, Mr. Swinney told Scots to 'unite against the rise of the extremely right'. He said that at the end of April he will bring trade unions, churches and charities to set up an alternative to 'anxiety policy'.
The Scottish conservatives said that they 'will not participate in another SNP Talking Shop' and accused the SNP of having 'Division in Scotland for decades'.
Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said yesterday: “Pro-union voters seduced by reform may just want to reflect that the only reason why Swinney has the 'threat' is because he knows that further splitting the trade union voice is his best route to remain in function.”
