You can count on one hand the number of self-inflicted crises brought upon Humza Yousaf during his gruelling stint as First Minister.

The sheer scale of the wobbling tower of problems that have come crashing down, brick by brick, due to actions of those outwith his control or sparked by his predecessor appears endless. For the still relatively new SNP leader, when it rains, it pours.

This tends to be a symptom of political parties who are running out of time in government. Beset by scandal, sleaze and infighting, they turn on each other as their grip on power loosens through the weight of political gravity and years in government.

The latest twist, Alex Salmond launching another legal action against the Scottish Government, is yet another blow for the party and Mr Yousaf’s leadership.

At a time when the Scottish political world is focused on the indefensible actions of his health secretary Michael Matheson over his family’s use of a parliamentary iPad, the spectre of Mr Salmond approaching over the hill yet again must fear the SNP leader with dread.

The Matheson affair has drained Mr Yousaf of authority. Every day he remains in post, that grip on power loosens, his enemies spot weakness, and rifts that rippled underneath the smooth exterior of the SNP during the Sturgeon years bubble up to the surface.

Mr Salmond is the personification of the SNP’s splits. The party remains fundamentally divided on their approach to government. Those who backed former leadership contender Kate Forbes would bristle at being labelled Salmondites, but that was their language and rhetoric. Mr Yousaf is unapologetically Sturgeonite.

Those dividing lines remain evident in the SNP under Mr Yousaf’s leadership, demonstrated most clearly by the aforementioned Ms Forbes, but also by the red-faced fury and rebellion of rebel MSP Fergus Ewing.

Ash Regan, so convinced by the Salmond argument after her failed attempt at winning the leadership election, jumped ship to his Alba party just last month. Others could still yet follow.

The relationship breakdown between Ms Sturgeon and Mr Salmond has split the party and the independence movement, was the basis on which Alba was formed, and damaged not only Ms Sturgeon while in office, but also Mr Salmond’s legacy as first minister. Mr Yousaf’s reputation is under threat by simple association.

After the Covid WhatsApp scandal, the Matheson affair, and the Salmond inquiry, the SNP brand is dipped neck-high in sleaze and scandal.

Facing the dredging up the worst of the Salmond inquiry and the allegations, conspiracy theories and scrutiny that brings with it, will no doubt fill Mr Yousaf with dread.

Instead of a quiet march to the general election in which damage limitation is the number one priority, he faces being questioned on the conduct of both of his previous, significantly higher-profile bosses.

The court room will provide a platform for Mr Salmond to rehearse, as he did during the parliamentary inquiry, his accusations of conspiracy. We could see Ms Sturgeon on the stand, alongside the former permanent secretary, Leslie Evans.

It is rare for such an event to lead to anything, but damaging headlines. It is the last thing Mr Yousaf needs as he attempts to avoid the inevitable Labour onslaught.

Alex Salmond court case: For Humza Yousaf, when it rains, it pours