The SNP's last annual conference in Perth was an upbeat but realistic affair. Activists spoke publicly about defeating Scottish Labour, but privately predicted disappointment.

"At that point we thought we might just fall short," one Nationalist MSP said. "Victory wasn't in our minds simply because we had grown used to losing."

Another senior Nationalist agreed: "Most people expected us to lose."

Twelve months later and the unimaginable has happened: the SNP is in government and Alex Salmond, the guerrilla leader turned first minister, is generating headlines across the UK.

John Finnie, the party's group leader on Highland Council, summed up the feeling of activists as they gathered for the SNP's first conference as a party of government.

"I'm like a wee laddie with this new government. I think everything about it is very exciting," he said as he welcomed delegates to the Highland resort in Aviemore.

The optimism is entirely due to the party's win in May. Last year the SNP had two dozen MSPs and around 180 councillors. Twelve months later, the Nationalists have 47 MSPs, 20 ministers and more than 300 elected members in local authorities.

Not everyone can believe the party's current position. One SNP minister said: "When you have been in the SNP for 30 years, you just expect to lose elections. There is a still a sense of please pinch me'."

The Nationalists' election campaign was, according to one senior party insider, roughly based on New Labour's successful pitch to voters in 1997: court the media; woo the business community; drop unpopular tax policies; and contrast themselves to a weary and jaded government.

"We neutered our weaknesses and played to our strengths," said the source. "You won't get Alex admitting it, but we had learned how the Labour party seized power 10 years ago from the Tories."

The conference is further evidence of the close attention the SNP pays to presentation. A giant screen in the conference hall opened proceedings with a slick promo by the new first minister, whose speech bore the hallmarks of a presidential address. His aides, suited and serious, confirmed the transition of the SNP from a protest movement to a party of government.

In common with New Labour conferences, the resort also reeked of the sort of big money that follows election wins. A one-day pass for this year's conference reportedly cost £176, compared to £50 in 2005. A three-day pass cost £150 two years ago - now it is £412.

Government inflation also applies to exhibitions, which have gone up from £2000 to £2500. The charge for hard-pressed charities to take out stands has also risen from £120 to £350.

So-called "premier" fringe meetings, addressed by senior ministers, were sponsored by companies such as Tesco, the Royal Mail, Scottish Power and others also had their stamp on events addressed by Salmond.

All told, the 73rd SNP conference is estimated to net the party a five-figure profit from stands, delegates' passes and other spin-offs. SNP chief executive Peter Murrell said of the SNP's slick approach: "It's been a process of professionalisation from 1999, when the party took some criticism. None of that fluff can be used against us. We should be as good as, if not better, than the others."

The resemblance to a New Labour conference is reinforced by the type of person in attendance. Where before an SNP conference would be full of angry men and young fogeys, the Aviemore gathering is populated by diplomats and foreign media. Scottish nationalism is almost becoming fashionable. The conference debates also show how a "modernised" SNP has learned from past mistakes. SNP conferences were once an annual exercise in backstabbing, rows and rebellions against the leadership, a spectacle that was captured live on television.

In 2007, rows are kept off the conference floor, while resolutions committing the Nationalists to extra spending commitments are absent. Votes passed on reviewing the right-to-buy and blocking Trident will not keep finance secretary John Swinney awake at night.

Another trick picked up from New Labour is control of the conference agenda. Debate ideas on Nato membership and the MSP political levy never made it onto the conference floor in the first place. It is, in the words of one left-wing activist, "a rally in all but name".

A related theme is how ministers are refusing to bow to the demands of colleagues. Culture minister Linda Fabiani, for instance, made a contribution to a fringe debate on Europe at which she declined to endorse the policy initiatives advanced by the chair.

Even yesterday's debate on the independence white paper went according to plan. Some activists are still privately sceptical of Salmond's policy of delivering independence through a referendum, with some members also unhappy about his "concession" of a multi-option poll, but the vote was carried nonetheless.

"Nobody is going to rock the boat at the first conference when the SNP is in government," one activist said.

Instead, delegates are for the first time in their party's history being treated to speeches from MSPs that also happen to be government announcements. On Friday, education secretary Fiona Hyslop announced a £100million funding injection for higher education. Yesterday, deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon unveiled plans to protect public sector workers from physical assault.

There are still flickers of old-style SNP conferences: an old lady falling up the stairs late in the evening; a middle-aged man talking to himself about "Unionists"; the occasional wild-eyed crazy breaking through the cordon to make a speech. But such eccentricities are now rare.

l Guest Vocals: page 34 l Editorial: page 41