Opposition Leader Jennifer Smith seems to be a valid one and the public will probably agree with Ms Smith's acceptance. The people of Bermuda have a right to know what each leader and each political party plans for the Country.

It seems to us that the Opposition is often critical of both general and specific Government policies but when asked, especially by reporters, what they would do they resort to simply saying they would do it differently. That is very hollow. Criticism, as Premier Gordon has said of the PLP, is not a platform.

The Progressive Labour Party now bills itself as "the government in waiting''. If it truly believes that, then it has a duty to tell Bermudians what is in store for them if the waiting ends.

The PLP has never been in power so they have no history of governing Bermuda on which they can be judged. None of us can point to what they did or did not do when they were last the Government. Unlike the UBP which must run on its history, warts and all, there is no record to hold the PLP to and there are no examples of successes or failures.

There are claims made against the PLP on a daily basis that they are incapable of running the economy. The PLP says that claim is racist but it still does not say what it plans for the economy and how it would deal with the long-standing problem of uneven distribution of wealth. The PLP complains about the tax structure but does not offer any alternative. For years the PLP has flirted with income tax but there are now indications that it has given up that thinking. There are reports that it would tax company profits or impose company licence fees but that kind of tax usually leads companies to cut staff. The PLP strongly advocates jobs.

Housing is a problem and the PLP is rightly critical of the low income housing shortage, yet it never tells Bermudians what plans it has to solve such a crisis or how it would prevent future housing difficulties.

How would the PLP solve the problem of long-term residents? What changes would it make in the education system which has undergone recent major change and probably cannot thrive until it has a chance to settle down. Drugs? Crime? Single parents? Race relations? These are only a few examples. In answer to the question: "What would you do?'' the PLP smiles and says only, "Wait and see. We would do it differently.'' That seems to imply that they have some kind of formula to produce easy solutions. But that cannot be true. Bermuda's problems will be very much the same no matter who is in power and the solutions will still be time consuming and difficult.

Neither political party is in possession of a magic wand. There can be no overnight solutions nor are there very many easy answers.

We think the PLP owes it to the Bermudian people to tell them in clear and simple terms what it proposes to make Bermuda a better place and how it proposes to pay. "Different'' is not an answer on which we can make informed judgments.

A debate will give us all a chance to judge what the two leaders are offering Bermuda. They are both offering themselves for the future and we need to know what that future holds.