PORT SAINT LAURENCE (StL)/NICOLEA HEATH (NC), 8th of May 1978 - Upon the announcement of the resignation of Prime Minister William Kenny and the former leader of the Soc Dems, the two largest parties in Abalan politics were left without a leader. It seems as though, today, the void has, at least begun to be filled by two strong prospects.

The first is Oscar Traynor who is the Minister of Finance and interim Prime Minister and is a darling of suave, calm, cool and collected politics. In a speech given to his home region of Nicolea Heath's Progressive Conservative Association, Traynor gave hints at a policy of expansion, growth and economic openness. It seems as though Mr. Traynor's leadership and, indeed, his Premiership, would be very much a continuation of the economically liberal, socially conservative policies.

On the other hand, we have Vicente Leferro; a firebrand, a revolutionary and most certainly an inspiring left-winger. Questions have been raised as to his far-left policies by the more moderate wing of the party and of his potential electoral success in finding the centre ground but there has never been nor does this journalist feel will ever be a question of his ability to energize his base- which can be more important than finding the centre in certain electoral situations.

When the ABS took a poll of 5,000 Social Democratic Abalans proportionally representing each province, the question "Do you support Vicente Leferro as Leader of the SDP?" It turned out that 90% of people who described themselves as "Highly Socialistic" were in support of him, however only 43% of all those polled said they did support him.

On the other hand, almost 6,000 Progressive Conservative voters were polled and, as opposed to the divisive Mr. Leforro, Traynor received good grades from across the whole party. His most supportive group was the self-styled moderate group where 62% supported him as the "Best leader for the PCP."

Now, we have Jackson Morrow, senior political analyst, to discuss what these polls mean. Jackson, what do the Leforro polls say?

Jackson Morrow:Well, obviously, they mean that Vicente Leforro is as divisive in his party as he is in the country. The thing about Leforro is that he is a bit of an extreme left-winger especially if you put him up against the likes of Oscar Traynor.

Speaking of Mr. Traynor, what do you think his poll results are saying?

Jackson Morrow:Yes, well, his are exactly what we expected. He's a centre-line hugger, he continues the Kenny pursuit and he will probably be the Prime Minister for a long time- especially if we keep seeing such a popularity under him and such a divisive person as Leforro in the leader's seat of the SDP.

Thank you, Jackson. It's now time for a commercial break but when we come back, a dog is a man's best friend and that is even more true for this man who was caught in a burning building when his dog saved his life...