The economic storm clouds gather over the nation. The sky above darkens. The people button up their coats as, heads bent against the gathering storm, they prepare for the worst. But who is this, shimmering down the pavement, jacket thrown carelessly over his shoulder, shirt collar open to the breeze, whistling a carefree tune? Why, it is Alex Salmond, the cheeriest kid on the block. Oh yes, he says, the prospects are bleak indeed. But if indeed the heavens open, then it is others who bear responsibility. Theirs is the forecast that went wrong, theirs the budget that landed us in so much trouble. We, on the other hand, have our sturdy SNP umbrella at the ready, and, if all else fails, there are others to blame.

Mr Salmond is the Gene Kelly de nos jours, and, even as the first spots of rain begin to fall, he kicks his heels and does a nifty dance routine around the nearest opposition leader. No, seriously. That’s how it sounded yesterday. As Iain Gray, the Labour leader, chided him for irresponsibility over the nation’s finances, as Annabel Goldie, for the Tories, raised the prospects of public cuts to come, the First Minister was at his most ebullient. It was Labour, with their budget cuts, that was forcing hard choices; it was the Tories, with their privatisation measures, that had made things worse; only the SNP government, by announcing sensible savings in its budget, had got things right.

One sometimes wonders about the world Mr Salmond lives in. He knows his cost-cutting measures are derisory. But one wonders even more about the inability of his opponents to dampen his cheerineess.

I doubt whether it was sensible tactics for Mr Gray to raise the question of why Mr Salmond had so often cancelled his engagements with FiSAB. Most of us listening wondered what or who FiSAB was when it was at home. Turns out it was the Financial Services Advisory Board, and Mr Salmond has been standing them up since February. Shocking, really.

Ms Goldie was more to the point in raising the Auditor General’s apocalyptic report about Scotland’s finances, which suggested that we were going to run out of money some time in 2013. Now that was something worth pursuing. But then she spoiled things by suggesting that Scottish Water should be privatised, which meant that the question just dribbled away, and Mr Salmond had more fun at the expense of Tory privatisation policies.

But it was Tavish Scott, the Liberal Democrat leader, who got the thick end of the Salmond act, when he accused the First Minister of misreading the Lloyds takeover of HBOS, and describing it as “the deal of the century”. Mr Salmond was ready for this. He picked up a document that gave the complete context of what he had actually said, and proceeded to read it out. Seems that what he said was not at all what Mr Scott had implied he said. Indeed it suggested that Mr Scott had completely distorted the original meaning of Mr Salmond’s statement. “I’m shocked by the Liberals,” said Mr Salmond, beaming. “No — that’s wrong, I’m ever so slightly disappointed.”

We in the press gallery can only see the back of Mr Scott’s head. This, however, includes his ears, which seemed to be turning a very deep crimson. Meanwhile, the First Minister was clearly in the pink.

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