This article appears as part of the Unspun: Scottish Politics newsletter.
Patrick Harvie is facing a fight for his political life as the Bute House power-sharing agreement is pulled and stretched by the left of the Scottish Greens and the right of the SNP.
Calls to scrap the agreement have grown louder on both sides, with high-profile figures in Humza Yousaf's party believing that policies introduced by the Greens have been deleterious to their own election prospects, and members of Mr Harvie's own party furious with budget cuts and missed climate targets.
He's one of the most established figures in the Scottish Parliament – but can he survive the latest storm?
Mr Harvie has been interested in politics from an early age, having been taken to Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament rallies as a child.
While studying at Manchester Metropolitan University he was a member of the Labour Party, and became more involved in politics during the campaign to repeal Section 28 of the Local Government Act which prohibited "the promotion of homosexuality" by local authorities.
Read more:
Explainer: What is the Bute House Agreement and why is it in the spotlight?
He was first elected to Holyrood at the 2003 election as a list MSP for the Scottish Greens, campaigning against the extension of the M74 motorway in Glasgow.
Mr Harvie immediately began campaigning for civil partnerships, leading to the Daily Mail branding him the "voice of the irresponsible left-led anti-family anti-Christian gay whales against the bomb coalition". "My mum was very proud of that," he told The New Statesman in 2014.
Civil partnerships were passed by Westminster in 2004 and ten years later Scotland passed legislation approving same sex marriage.
Mr Harvie is openly bisexual and when he was elected as co-convenor in 2008 he became the first such person to lead any political party in Britain. He was a witness for the first-ever same-sex marriage in Scotland, which was officiated by Nicola Sturgeon.
When the 2014 independence referendum was announced, the Scottish Greens decided they would campaign for a Yes vote.
This was seen by some as an odd step – typically green politics would advocate for fewer borders, not more – but Mr Harvie explained his advocacy for leaving the UK was not to do with saltire-toting nationalism.
He said: "For me, it’s got nothing to do with flags, or 300 years of history; it’s about the future. And I think that the best way, not only of changing Scotland, but actually challenging the nature of UK politics and the way that it works at present, throughout these islands, is Scottish independence.
"It doesn’t give a guarantee of a utopian future, but it offers up possibilities that are closed to us at the moment.
In many ways the seeds of the current discontent could be seen back then, with Mr Harvie critical of then First Minister Alex Salmond.
The Scottish Greens co-convenor accused Mr Salmond of fixating on tax cuts in his vision of an independent Scotland, and the focus on North Sea oil but concluded: "I don’t think there’s any great secret that I’m not a personal fan of Alex Salmond. It’s really important to remind people that you don’t need to like Alex Salmond to vote yes. Because this isn’t about him."
Read more:
Unspun | Neil Mackay: The Greens had one job and they failed... now Harvie and Slater must go
In 2019 the party changed its constitution to abolish the positions of the co-convenors in favour of co-leaders, with one of the two having to be a woman.
Mr Harvie has led the party alongside Lorna Slater since then, with the Scottish Greens winning nine seats at the 2021 Holyrood election.
With the SNP falling short of a majority in the Scottish Parliament, talks were begun over a power-sharing agreement between the two parties – eventually leading to the Bute House Agreement.
The deal proved controversial for some on the left of the Greens, some of whom left the party, but it was passed by a majority of members.
It saw Mr Harvie and Ms Slater given ministerial posts, the first time a member of a Green Party in either Scotland or the UK has been in government.
However, some of the policies the party have introduced have proven controverial. A bill on gender recognition reform was passed by the Scottish Parliament with cross-party support but ultimately vetoed by Westminster, and the Deposit Return Scheme has been delayed until at least 2025.
Plans to make 10% of Scotland's seas 'Highly Protected Marine Areas' were scrapped after a huge backlash by the fishing industry and elements of both the SNP and Scottish Greens have talked of scrapping the Bute House Agreement.
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Fergus Ewing, a former SNP minister, has described the Greens as "a small group of fringe extremists" and both Kate Forbes and Ash Regan advocated a break with the party during their unsuccessful runs for the leadership of the party.
Meanwhile the Scottish Greens will hold an EGM to discuss the future of the Bute House Agreement with members concerned over the scrapping of emissions targets and cuts to departments like education and housing.
Mr Harvie admitted he "does know" what the outcome will be – and it's likely his future as leader depends on it.
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