JOHN Swinney confesses he’s been completely out of his comfort zone during this election – but insists it’s made him feel “more at ease” with himself than any other time in his long career.

The First Minister has a reputation as a stiff, old school bank manager but during this campaign he has posed for a series of wacky photo-ops from cutting pizza slices to wearing colourful sunglasses.

Although he admits seeing himself on the side of a bus was a bit of a “shock”.

John, who only became FM in May, says: “I feel at ease with myself. And if I think about it, this is probably about the first time I’ve felt at ease with myself in my public life.

“Why? I think it’s because ultimately I’m responsible. I’m the party leader. At this moment in my life, my party has asked me to do this. To lead.

“They’ve not asked me by 51 votes to 49. The whole party said to me, ‘We need you to do this’.

“So it’s the fact that my party has expressed such confidence in me which has put me at ease with myself.

“Although I have to say, when we started talking about the bus, I’m sitting there thinking, ‘Am I going to be able to cope with my face on the side of a bus?’

“That is really not my comfort zone. And when I went to the bus launch last Friday I certainly got a shock.”

He adds: “But part of my strength is I am a deadly serious person. I think I’m taken as deadly seriously by people.

“That’s important to me because I want to give serious leadership to the country. But there’s always got to be space for a wee bit of a lighter moment like wearing the yellow sunglasses.

“It just seemed like a nice, fun thing to do.”

Another criticism often aimed at John is his robotic style of delivery which seems devoid of any human touch.

But that all melts away in an instant when he becomes glassy-eyed talking about his dear departed mum Nancy, who died four years ago aged 89.

Taking a moment to compose himself he says: “The one regret I have about becoming First Minister is that my mother never lived long enough to see it.

“And I’ve cried about the fact that she didn’t see it, because really, she would have loved it.”

We meet for a run at North Inch and Riverside Park in Perth where John lives with his second wife Elizabeth Quigley and their 13-year-old son Matthew.

And he reveals he began running in 2009 after suffering chest pains which saw him seeking urgent medical attention.

The 60-year-old says: “There was sufficient concern that I was taken to hospital. I was checked out but there was nothing harmed.

“But the consultant said to me that I had put on four stones. So when I had to go back and see him later I thought, ‘I can’t go back and see him the same way’ having had this pointed out to me.

“So I started doing a bit of running to get rid of some weight. And by the time I went back to see him, I’d lost a stone and a half.

“That’s when I really got into, around 2009/10, because I lost a lot of weight and I found it was really good for my whole well-being.

“I’d get up at 6 o’clock in the morning for a run as it’s about the only time of day when nobody needs me.”

John went on to complete the Rome Marathon for his 50th birthday in 2014 - which also got him match-fit for the gruelling Independence referendum.

But contracting covid in 2022 has drastically shortened his running power.

He says: “I haven’t managed to do a 10k since. It’s the capacity in my lungs. So I’m trying to build up. I can do a 5k, no bother but I’m trying to close the gap.”

Born in Edinburgh, he became MP for Tayside North from 1997 to 2001 before being elected to the inaugural Scottish Parliament in 1999.

After Alex Salmond resigned the party leadership for the first time in 2000, Swinney led the SNP before Salmond returned to head the Nats in 2004.

Since then John has held numerous positions including Deputy First Minister and Finance Secretary, but only got a shot at the top job after Humza Yousaf’s ill-fated stint as FM imploded in April.

Becoming top dog has transformed John, who even donned a kilt and Scotland top to join the Tartan Army in Munich for the Euro 2024 curtain raiser against Germany - before we were thrashed 5-1.

The First Minister groans: “I was sitting two seats away from the German president in the Alianz Arena, who was frankly out of his seat like a yo-yo.

“I’m trying to kind of keep as even a keel as I possibly could. But in the second half I thought, ‘Well, surely we’ll come out, we’ll regroup’. Sadly it was not to be.

“But the fans were great ambassadors for Scotland. Germany took them to their heart. And it was just lovely to see.”

John’s own unwavering support for independence became clear when he promised it would, “Proudly sit on page one, line one” of his party’s manifesto.

But he claims he only did that because voters are crying out for politicians to be up front with them.

He says: “That’s what’s been wrong with this election campaign. There’s been far too many politicians holding back on what they actually think.

“I actually think that people desperately want their politicians to say what they actually believe in.

“We need to have investment in our public services. We need to have an end to austerity. We need to sort out the relationship with Europe and get back into the European Union because it’s absolutely killing our economy.

“And I believe we should do that as an independent country. That’s what I honestly believe.”

John can’t think much further beyond tomorrow’s General Election, but no matter what the results are for the SNP, one thing he’s focussed on is getting back to full fitness.

He says: “That’s my objective over the summer. To try and get back to doing a 10k again comfortably.

“My personal best was 49 minutes and if I could get back to that again I’d be happy.”