Almost one week before the polls open for nationwide
general and municipal elections, the big news is
that...there is no big news. Going into the home
stretch leading up to the March fifth balloting, each
party strongly hinted that there would be political
bombshells bursting like fireworks on News Year's eve.
Instead, those in charge of the U.D.P. and P.U.P.
campaigns seem to be in a state of watchful waiting,
each holding a burning match just inches away from
the fuse of major scandal. What are they waiting for?

Timing, as they say, is everything. Too early and
you're left without a big finish; too late and you fail to

maximise your impact. Insiders in both parties tell
News 5 that there is no shortage of scandal. As the
party out of power it is assumed that the U.D.P. has
the biggest calibre ammunition, but how many shells
is unclear. If all they have left in their arsenal is one
big scandal, when should they fire? Wednesday would
be good, but that would give the P.U.P. plenty of time
to counterattack. Thursday is an excellent day for TV
news, but you miss the opportunity to utilise your own
party's newspaper. Friday is out as you're too late for
the weekend papers and lose much of your television
audience to happy hour. Monday is ideal to get in your
last licks, but the timing is so suspicious that the
independent media just may ignore what you have to
say...even more so for Tuesday. So what's it gonna
be? Wednesday looks like scandal day, but with both
parties focussed on voter challenges in Magistrate's
Court, it could present administrative difficulties.
Whatever the timing, rumours say the U.D.P. still has
more to say about finance and education, while the
P.U.P. has been looking closely at some interesting
U.D.P. nationality documents.