Criss-crossing the marginal seats, PP and PNM leaders spent the last week assessing campaign progress in key areas.
Prime Minister Kamla Persad-Bissessar would have known much work is needed in Arima after the low COP presence at Wednesday's Arima PP meeting. She rallied troops in San Fernando West last night and goes to St Joseph today. PNM leader Keith Rowley hit St Joseph on Monday, was in Mayaro last night and will aid PNM's San Fernando West fight with a personal appearance at a key point, Embacadere, tomorrow.
Last weekend's PNM and PP rallies saw large numbers at both. While PNM's attendees profiled PNM's traditional base, PP's bore a slightly more mixed element involving mainly Afro T&T youth. It's however debateable how many of those–wearing PP jerseys over their heads, around shoulders or as masks–will actually vote PP or may heed PNM's "Take the Money and vote PNM" anthem.
The UNC's 28 candidates, dominating PP's line-up, now starting to walk constituencies are getting their bearing of the gazillion demands required of people in public life. How newbies like academic Wayne Munro (Tunapuna) and former Senate President Razia Ahmed (SF West) a traditional Muslim, acclimatise, remains to be seen, though their PNM counterparts in the field almost a year, have left no hand unshaken (or babies unkissed).
The campaign's freshness has so far, focusing on policies, been limited by cliches, hype and usage of similar language and procedures among platform thrusts on all sides. UNC presented its candidates as PNM did with profile videos. PNM clipped part of PP's "Ain't No Stopping Us (Kamla is On the Move") in its ads for public meetings proclaiming "We're on the Move..."
ILP leader Jack Warner's manifesto echoes plans from PNM and PP.
Both PP and PNM are on par concerning "late" delivery of integral components of their respective campaigns, the PP with its candidates three weeks before polls and the PNM, same on its manifesto. If strategy was priority, it put public opportunity to properly consider the respective people and plans, on a back foot.
The PP and PNM manifestos also hold plans in common (and both leaders have commended Wayne Chance's Vision on Mission effort.) While PP architect Dr Bhoe Tewarie's plan retains PP's people-centric thrust as the basis for its development, flagship and innovation platforms to 2020, the PNM's usually conservative project-heavy thrust has been balanced by PNM manifesto architect Colm Imbert with some of PP's populist ideas such as squatter accommodation proposals and consultation and consensus.
Much the same as some PP folks are now with the PNM assisting organisation and similarly as PNM has integrated the PP's unity concept with its addition of "Together" to its slogans to expand national appeal.
PP's manifesto is grounded in its delivery record, steering clear of mentioning governance issues dominating its tenure. Capitalising on that, PNM's, based on the Manning Vision 2020 plan and reinvigorated with responses to issues of the PP term, is grounded by trumpeting PP's Achilles heel, stating how PNM will rectify this.
PNM's plan comes with a first-year schedule of "sweeteners"; the PP's with a first month priority list including squatter regularisation.
Both are yet to detail the costs, implications and other considerations of plans, particularly big ticket items like PNM's Rapid Rail and Toco/Tobago ferry port plan, its Beetham container port proposal, Tobago airport and the feasibility of reducing VAT, how this will improve collection and other financial proposals in view of PNM's concern about T&T's finances and the oil price drop (which wasn't in force when its plan was conceived.)
PP's has to detail its PoS-Chaguaramas causeway plan and flesh out innovations, but moreover elaborate on projected governance modus operandi. Pointing to procurement legislation may not suffice for a tight race.
Leadership, however, remains key. Rowley's claim that the Anika Gumbs issue may make him shy of female journalists cannot hold as a bar to media access/scrutiny since discrimination will taint the air. Persad-Bissessar who has five years of reasons not to want to talk to the media, isn't gunshy despite searing daily scrutiny.