Commenting as the First Minister delivers his Hugo Young lecture, Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie MSP said:
"The First Minister is treating his lecture tour like some sort of royal progress through England.
"He resents the involvement of UK Ministers in Scotland but sees no irony in his involvement in the politics of the rest of the UK.
"The real worry for Scotland is that his desire to split Scotland from the UK is now dominating his work and that of his government. They are relegating the economy and jobs to the side-lines.
"The First Minister can't answer basic questions about the future of Scotland under independence such as the currency and armed forces. He couldn't even answer questions last week about his police reforms.
"It a damning indictment of the First Minister that his idea of progressive policies includes giving Sir Fred Goodwin a £3000 discount on his council tax."