How long can Nicola Sturgeon pretend that nothing has changed?

Is Nicola Sturgeon, not to put too fine a point on things, losing it? Just six weeks ago this question would have seemed preposterous. But that was before the SNP’s disastrous election result. Yes, disastrous. Sure, everyone expected the SNP to lose votes and seats but no-one really thought they could lose 21; no-one really thought their share of the vote would fall by 13 points or that they would misplace almost half a million voters. No-one thought their result would be so very much worse than expected. No-one includes the opposition points and, pertinently, the SNP itself. 

And in response to this, what has Nicola Sturgeon said? Only this: nothing has changed. This is a line that will not, cannot, hold. The first minister says she will reflect on the election result and will not be bullied into giving the newspapers ‘quick headlines’. It is premature to suppose that the election ruins the prospects of there being a second independence referendum before the next Holyrood elections. 

Once upon a time, the SNP was divided between so-called gradualists and so-called fundamentalists.