NEXT week, barring anything wildly improbable, Scotland will see Nicola Sturgeon elected by MSPs as the new First Minister.

As Deputy FM for the last seven years, and as a senior government minister, Nicola has impressed allies and opponents alike.

Personally I can find areas of agreement and disagreement with Nicola and her party, but even those who rail against everything the SNP stand for tend to admit that she has been a capable and professional figure.

She certainly has less of the 'Marmite' quality Alex Salmond possesses, polarising opinion between those who love him or loathe him.

The Greens have always tried to find common ground with others, without holding back from opposition when we think it's needed. That's just the way we think politics should be.

I can rant all I like against the SNP's record on fossil fuel, roadbuilding or the contradictions in their economic policies.

But if that's all I did as an MSP it wouldn't make much of a difference to the lives of the people I represent.

So while it's important to challenge the government on many issues, it's even more important to put forward constructive ideas and seek realistic ways of putting them into practice.

That's the approach we took with Labour when they were in power. It's the approach we took with Salmond (even if he didn't always make it easy).

And if Nicola Sturgeon is willing to work with us on speeding the transition to a cleaner, greener, less wasteful society and a fairer more equal economy instead of one that serves the interests of big business, we'll carry on with that same constructive approach whenever we can.

Of course Nicola will also be the first woman to take on the role of First Minister.

One day gender equality at the top of government might no longer be remarkable.

But that day is still a long way off. We're still in a society where the large majority of political power, economic power and cultural power is held by men, and the large majority of low-paid and unpaid work is done by women.

One high profile exception to that isn't in itself going to transform things.

When the new cross-party campaign for gender balance in Scottish politics was launched recently we heard many of the tired old arguments against it.

"We want the best person for the job, regardless of gender" - if we had that, we'd surely be looking at a balanced parliament already.

"Fewer women want to stand for Parliament" - as though we should ignore the reasons why that might be the case.

"Quotas are counterproductive, women should get there on merit" - usually coming from people who suggest no workable alternative approach. Besides, I've never noticed many male politicians feeling undermined by the structural advantages that helped us along the way.

As I see it the continued opposition to gender balance in politics, so often expressed with at least a dash of misogyny thrown in, is a reminder of why the issue remains so important.

You can find out more about the campaign, and get involved, at women5050.org