Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said Liz Truss would be a "disaster" as prime minister if she rules the way she campaigned, but she hopes to have a "constructive" relationship with her, PA Media reported.

Truss is a major contender for prime minister and will take the post as early as Tuesday if she defeats Chancellor Rishi Sunak in a battle for the Conservative Party leadership.

"It’s obviously the case that Liz Truss and I don’t agree on very much politically, but I’m a firm believer in giving anybody who’s coming into the office of Prime Minister a chance to prove themselves, and I will certainly do my best to build a constructive working relationship with her," Sturgeon said.

"If she governs how she has campaigned over the summer, she will be a disaster, not just for Scotland but for all of the UK, but let’s hope that’s not the case, because this is a very serious time for the UK and it needs very serious and very purposeful leadership," the Scottish first minister added.

When asked for her opinion on Truss, Sturgeon accused her of campaigning on "niche priorities" of the Conservative Party, such as tax cuts.

It won’t take very long to see whether she is going to govern as a Prime Minister with a focus on the real priorities of the country or not. "I think that will become very obvious and evident perhaps within the first 24 to 48 hours of her premiership. Let’s hope she chooses the responsible course and stops pandering to the margins in the Conservative Party," said Sturgeon.

Sturgeon also expressed concern that changes to the U.K. emergency budget could affect spending in Scotland.

"Right now, we’re working within budgets that are effectively fixed and finite, they are not rising in line with inflation, but the inflationary pressures are bearing down on our budget as they are with the household budgets of families across the country," the Scottish first minister said.