There was only one other living SNP politician John Swinney mentioned in his speech as he announced his bid for the party leadership this afternoon - and that was Kate Forbes.

He didn't name check Mairi McAllan, the cabinet secretary for net zero, who had just introduced him, and he didn't acknowledge by name any of the other cabinet ministers - including Angus Robertson, Fiona Hyslop and Shirley-Anne Somerville - who had turned out to support his campaign and who sat in front of him as he set out his pitch.

Mr Swinney did pay tribute to former party leader and his late friend Gordon Wilson but among the current crop of SNP politicians all his attention was directed towards a woman who wasn't in the hall, Ms Forbes.

He praised the former finance secretary – who he had private talks with earlier this week “We have many talented people leading the work of the Scottish Government. I want Kate Forbes to play significant part in that team. She is an intelligent, creative and thoughtful person, who has much to contribute to our national life. And if I am elected, I will make sure that Kate is able to make that contribution."

READ MORE: John Swinney set to be next SNP leader and First Minister

READ MORE: Kate Forbes rules herself out of SNP leadership contest

It was quite a different opinion from the one he gave in February last year about the then finance secretary's qualities.

Giving his view on her personal opposition to equal marriage as a member of the Free Church of Scotland, Mr Swinney said: "If Kate wants to set out those views, with which I profoundly disagree despite being a man of deep faith, then the party membership will make their judgment ... whether they think they are appropriate for someone to hold if you are a leader of the SNP and first minister," he told the BBC.

So what's changed since you made those comments, my colleague Kevin McKenna asked Mr Swinney earlier today when he bumped into him in Holyrood.

"Kate and I are over that," he said.

"I think there was an over reaction to what I said then."

The Herald: First Minister Humza Yousaf at what is likely to be his last First Minister's Questions today. John Swinney is set to become SNP and First Minister.

The SNP is certainly in a worse place now than it was in February last year and in his speech Mr Swinney acknowledged his party had hit troubled times and was divided.

And while not unveiling any new policies, he underlined that his party would be going in a different direction than under Humza Yousaf, who announced his resignation on Monday after just 13 months as FM, and under his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon with a new focus on growing the economy, creating jobs, delivering good public services and combating child poverty.

"Only the SNP stand where the majority of people want their government to be, in the moderate centre-left of Scottish politics. That is where I stand," he said.

He underlined that if he became FM he would pursue economic growth and social justice - key messages Ms Forbes presented in her tilt at the leadership last year.

And he stressed while "the climate emergency is a real and present threat to our society" his government would need to recognise that the pursuit of net zero "has to take people and business with us".

He said: "Government must use its powers and resources to support economic growth and to ensure we create a vibrant economy in every part of our country. That means every aspect of policy - on planning, skills, infrastructure - must be aligned to support our aim of creating a successful economy. 

“I want ministers to be focused on the delivery of services on which the public depend - on health, on education, on housing, on transport - so people see their lives are getting better as a result of the actions of their government.  

“And, of course, the pursuit of many of these priorities would make a greater impact, if the Scottish Parliament had the full range of powers of any normal country. I have believed all of my adult life, that Scotland’s future is best served as an independent country."

Mr Swinney had a blunt message too for the SNP warning his party it "is not as cohesive as it needs to be. This has to change."

He said: “Just as we must fight against the polarisation of our politics, we cannot allow the SNP to be polarised."

It seems the former deputy first minister's speech worked to convince Ms Forbes to support his leadership bid.

In her statement just hours afterwards, where she ruled out standing, the former finance secretary, said Mr Swinney's vision aligned to the one she set out in her leadership campaign last year.

There is a sense that had Ms Forbes and Ms Swinney gone head to head in a contest the bitterness seen in the 2023 race would probably have surfaced again even if the two candidates were anxious for that not to happen.

With a general election looming this year, a Holyrood election in 2026, and faced with an ongoing police investigation and with Labour gaining ground on the SNP, it was not a risk the party would have been wise to take.

For now though it remains to be seen what policy and personnel changes Mr Swinney will make to the SNP government, now operating as a minority in Holyrood, and if those adjustments will unite the party and heal old wounds.