Labour - Can they Rewrite the Agenda?

I suppose it's one of the more curious leadership campaigns we've seen in a long time.
Labour's Scottish leader is going to be chosen from 3 reasonably competent individuals, and they are, of course, all attempting to flog their wares as best they can.
However, hanging heavily over this whole exchange like a happy zeppelin is one dominant figure; that of the First Minister.

Let's not underestimate the profile that performances at First Ministers Questions have had over the past fifteen months.
Against all comers, Salmond has been dominant, and has made it look apparently effortless.

Of course, it isn't as easy as that; several times Alex has been put under pressure, and for those with eyes to see, it's a phenomenon which is readily identifiable.
The key factor here is that it wasn't Wendy; or Jack; or any of the current contenders who have been able to get to Salmond.

It wasn't anyone in Labour, in fact.
I don't think that the destruction of Wendy Alexander (compounded by her donations shenanigans and the internal Labour leaking which kept her funeral pyre stoked up) was one which Labour foresaw in a million years.
She was, after all, touted as their prime intellect.
Reality proved that, if she was such, she lacked the forensic ability to make her points stick.
And dare I say, the chickens of her personal unpopularity came home to roost.

Now, Labour's candidates are fighting schizophrenic campaigns.

On the one hand they are keeking back over their shoulders at Salmond.
But again, they have to come up with policies which will differentiate them from;
1. each other
2. the Nats
3. London Labour (but without upsetting Brown, Darling and the MPs)

So, we have a collective volte face on the Council Tax, and a drift towards...... something yet to be defined.
Andy Kerr wants to ditch it as a long term aspiration.
In the meantime, as with Iain Gray, water rates exemptions will be brought in for pensioners.
Iain wants to improve life for the poorest students by increasing their indebtedness (um, what?) through increasing their loans from the SAAS.
I think this one needs more thought.

However, as others have said before me; if the Council Tax is to go, what of the Treasury supplied Council Tax Benefit, a sum of £400m which the Treasury is refusing to pay the SNP government if the Council Tax is removed?
I think this one needs more thought, as well.

At a hustings last year Iain Gray had a good pop at me on this very issue.
I wonder what he thinks now?

All Labour candidates acknowledge that this is like standing on the smoky and volcanic slopes of Mt Salmond whilst arguing over the merits of farming techniques.

The cat must be belled before any of these words and policy aspirations can come to pass; and none of the candidates appear remotely confident of their ability to do so.

Even Labour's best interpretation of the situation must be pessimistic.
At the moment, this SNP government can only self destruct, because none of the other parties seem intellectually capable of, or willing to, land a glove.

Another point, not entirely relevant to this post; but worth noting anyway.
The UK national deficit up to June was £553.3 billion.
Is a government and party which has overseen this really entitled to scaremonger about Scotland's fiscal stiuation post-independence?