You must be statesmanlike without being stuffy. Smooth without being smarmy. Dependable without being dull. Friendly without being flippant. Striking a perfect balance in a leaders’ debate is crucial and almost impossible.
Both the current British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, and the man who wants to take that job from him, Labour leader Keir Starmer, will have been continuously reminded of the list of dos and don’ts ahead of their first TV leaders’ debate in this election campaign.
In what was often a bad-tempered exchange, the two men clashed early on tax and pensions issues.
Mr Sunak accused Labour of planning to raise taxes by £2,000 per person, something which Mr Starmer eventually dismissed as “garbage”.
Labour was always going to focus on Mr Sunak’s record in government.
As audience members asked questions about the cost of living crisis, the NHS, migration and climate change, Mr Starmer continued to ask the prime minister why 14 years of Conservative government had failed to resolve the issues.
It was a testier exchange than had been anticipated with the candidates repeatedly warned by ITV’s Julie Etchingham not to talk over one another, warnings they repeatedly failed to heed.
With the Conservatives trailing Labour in the polls by a significant margin, the debate was particularly key for Mr Sunak.
From the rain sodden start of this campaign, Mr Sunak has battled bad polling numbers, unfortunate campaign gaffes and in recent days the entry into the race of Nigel Farage, a move which has caused deep dismay among many Tory MP’s.
For Mr Starmer, the debate is almost certainly something he could have done without.
There’s a reason former British prime minister Tony Blair avoided such events.
If leading the polls like Labour currently us, the debate process can take too much time and effort for little return.
Worse still, a debate leaves open the possibility of making a mistake which could damage the overall campaign.
But they are now an accepted part of the UK election landscape and one which can no longer be avoided.
At the start of this campaign, the Conservatives challenged Mr Starmer to one debate a week up until polling day.
It’s hard to know who might have been more appalled by that suggestion – the Labour Party or the viewing public.
For a lot of voters, the engagement they have with the first debate will come from snippets played on social media platforms.
An exchange on the issue of NHS waiting lists which resulted in the audience laughing at Mr Sunak’s answer will not have landed well for the prime minister.
However, while there were plenty of snappy exchanges, there was no knock out blow.
Mr Starmer, who is often accused of being dull, may decide he needs to increase his energy levels in future debates to communicate passion and determination to a wider public who are still trying to figure him out.
A YouGov poll for Sky News, in the moments after the debate ended, showed a win for Mr Sunak who polled 51% against 49% who thought Mr Starmer did better.
It is a wafer-thin win, but for Mr Sunak it is at least some good news in a campaign which has so far seen some appalling poll numbers for his party, which still has a mountain to climb to retain power.
