The National:

WHAT was going through the head of Tory MSP Russell Findlay when he sat down one afternoon to make a photo collage of the First Minister’s time at COP26?

Most likely he was hoping to score a few Twitter likes at her expense, and have it end there.

What he probably didn’t expect was hundreds of people calling him a “Facebook Da’” for his apparent ignorance of the meaning of the word “selfie”.

What he certainly didn’t expect was for his petty little project to end up boosting Nicola Sturgeon’s stature on the world stage.

In a bizarre twist of events, that’s exactly what’s happened.

READ MORE: WATCH: BBC audience member destroys Russell Findlay's claim that Westminster isn't 'broken'

It started after Mountains Mend Minds's Ross Cunningham took a sly jab at Findlay, and shared the Tory MSP’s collage on social media.

Cunningham wrote: “A great montage a fellow Twitter user very kindly put together to highlight all the influential people and world leaders Nicola Sturgeon has been meeting and engaging with on behalf of Scotland over the past couple of weeks.

“We are lucky to have her as our First Minister.”

That post (which incidentally has about three times as many “likes” as Findlay’s) attracted some international attention in the form of Ólafur Ragnar Grímsson, the former president of Iceland.

Grímsson, who served as Iceland’s head of state for two decades, now chairs Arctic Circle, an international organisation focusing on issues affecting the far north.

Resharing Findlay's collage on Twitter, he wrote: “Further evidence of the scope of @NicolaSturgeon - @COP26 - #Scotland - #Independence - #GlobalRole retail political road show.

“Clearly I am not the only one to notice!”

The former Icelandic premier said the montage was “further evidence” as he had not been sparing of his praise for the First Minister.

Commenting on a photo of Sturgeon alongside US climate envoy John Kerry, Grímsson wrote: “Her show continues! Demonstrating to the people of #Scotland what independence would look like on the global stage.

“All the leading #USA representatives at @COP26 participate in this political theater! Has nobody told @BorisJohnson what is going on?!!”

Responding to one Twitter user who was concerned he came off as sarcastic, Grímsson assured them he was being sincere, adding that he had “also invited @NicolaSturgeon multiple times to the @_Arctic_Circle Assemblies”.

While many of us are surprised that a Tory MSP has so effectively helped the First Minister promote Scotland on the global stage, we suspect Findlay may be gobsmacked.