BRITAIN: Conservative leader Michael Howard and Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy have both raised the question of "trust" in Prime Minister Tony Blair during their only face-to-face confrontation of the British election campaign so far.
The issue of trust between Mr Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown also surfaced yesterday during their first joint appearance of the campaign, forcing a strong hint from Mr Blair that the chancellor will retain his post if Labour wins the general election.
The two men appeared together in a determined Labour effort to focus public attention on the economy as Mr Howard stepped up his promises to have criminals "fear" the police and the consequences of their actions.
Having put Mr Brown and his record at the centre of Labour's campaign, Mr Blair was asked about his future intentions for the chancellor.
Mr Blair looked disconcerted by this reminder of earlier rumours that he was planning to force Mr Brown to the Foreign Office in a post-election reshuffle designed to stamp his authority on the cabinet in his push for a distinctively "New Labour" agenda for a third term.
Mr Blair said that Mr Brown had delivered economic stability, low interest rates, low unemployment and better living standards and he described him as "probably the most successful chancellor" Britain had had in 100 years. Without breaching any protocols about how he decided things, Mr Blair went on to say: "We would be pretty foolish to put that at risk."
Mr Brown, in turn, praised Mr Blair for leading Britain's economic reforms and said that the prime minister was a "trusted leader internationally, respected around the world".
Amid growing concerns about voter apathy and fears of a potentially record-low turnout on May 5th, Labour critics of Mr Blair are hoping that disillusioned supporters will rally on polling day behind the promise that Mr Brown will almost certainly succeed Mr Blair if, as he has indicated, he steps down sometime during the next parliament.
During a barn-storming performance in the House of Commons, however, Mr Howard signalled his intention to exploit the tensions between the prime minister and his chancellor during the campaign.
Accusing the Labour government of a string of broken promises on tax, crime, immigration, hospitals and schools, Mr Howard repeatedly quoted the remark Mr Brown was alleged to have made over his second claimed leadership deal with Mr Blair, demanding: "In the words of the chancellor, why should people ever believe him again?"
Delighted Tory MPs raised their arms and cried "up" in unison to Mr Howard's claims on tax, immigration and crime, while the party leader's claims on take-home pay, pensions and police detection rates were accompanied by cries of "down".
Pitching to the television audience beyond the Commons, Mr Blair countered with an assault on the record of the last Conservative government, declaring confidently that the British people were not about to elect "the same crew they rejected in 1997". And Mr Blair taunted: "The Tories used to run on the economy, now they run away from it."
To Labour cheers, he told Mr Howard: "When minister of the environment, you introduced the poll tax, when minister for employment, unemployment rose one million, when minister in charge of labour regulation, you ended up opposing the minimum wage, and when you were home secretary you cut police numbers . . . I'm very happy to compare our record in government with your record."
However, Mr Kennedy joined in the attack, after first challenging Mr Blair over the failure to provide a pension in their own right to women who stayed at home to look after young children or elderly parents.
Reminding Mr Blair of Labour's pledge before the last election not to introduce top-up fees for students, Mr Kennedy asked why people should believe "any of the promises he's about to make now".