THE TWO potential Taoisigh, Mr John Bruton and Mr Bertie Ahern, are conducting hours of rehearsals for tonight's head-to-head television debate, believing that there are still undecided voters to be won over.
On the last day of the formal campaign, parties of both coalition options are confidently claiming they can win 87 seats. A deliberate strategy was mounted by both the Rainbow leaders and the Progressive Democrats yesterday to maximise vote transfers.
And in an eleventh-hour move to assure voters in the public sector, Fianna Fail secured the agreement of the PDs yesterday for a joint statement dumping PD plans for 25,000 "voluntary" job losses.
"There will be no redundancies in the public service and 25,000 will not lose their jobs under a Fianna Fail-PD government," the statement said.
A joint commitment to provide tighter economic management through control of public spending, and the elimination of borrowing so that Ireland can thrive in European Monetary Union and sustain its high level of job creation, is among the eight listed priorities for their alternative coalition.
The three Rainbow leaders, Mr Bruton, Mr Spring and Mr De Rossa, held a meeting at Dublin airport yesterday to emphasise the importance to their supporters of the maximum transfer of votes between their parties.
"I think there never has been an election in which transfers have been more important," Mr Bruton said. He stressed that if supporters used their votes effectively, on the basis of existing trends they would have enough seats between Fine Gael, Labour and Democratic Left to form a government.
Mr Spring categorically denied that either he and/or the Labour Party would form a government with Fianna Fail in the event of a hung Dail.
"The position that I outlined in my Limerick speech still stands. I am not varying from that. I have dealt with that speculation which I regard as mischievous," he said.
Mr De Rossa called on his party's supporters to use their votes to maximise the number of seats for the Rainbow Coalition in constituencies where DL candidates were not standing.
The PD leader, Ms Harney, also urged party supporters in the 13 constituencies around the country without PD candidates to vote for Fianna Fail. "I would ask people who agree with our pro-enterprise, pro-family policies to support Fianna Fail candidates," she stated.
PD policies would be reflected in a new programme for government, she added. On the major issues such as crime, taxation, securing peace in the North and protection of the environment, there was broad agreement between Fianna Fail and the PDs, Ms Harney said.
In an unusual development the Fianna Fail director of elections, Mr P.J. Mara, released details of Fianna Fail's tracking poll conducted by the market research company Behaviour and Attitudes.
Taking an average of the polls conducted throughout the campaign, Mr Mara forecast that Fianna Fail would secure 43 per cent of the votes, Fine Gael 27 per cent, Labour 11 per cent, PDs 6 per cent, DL 2 per cent and all others 11 per cent.
Mr Bruton and Mr Ahern have been conducting a series of video-taped "dry runs" with their respective advisers for tonight's hour-long televised head-to-head debate on RTE.
The huge audience attracted on Monday night by the debate between the Tanaiste, Mr Spring, and the Progressive Democrats leader, Ms Mary Harney, has added weight to tonight's exchanges between Mr Bruton and Mr Ahern.
It is estimated that more than half a million people watched Monday night's encounter, the largest audience for any programme on the election since the campaign began.
Tonight's debate, chaired by Miriam O'Callaghan, begins with a two-minute address by each leader. They will read from auto-cue, a facility not used by Mr Spring or Ms Harney.
It is understood that both men will stand for this section of the programme, and then take their seats to pursue a debate covering five main areas.
Ms O'Callaghan said last night that she will act as a "facilitator" rather than an inquisitor, to allow the two politicians to express their views.