THERE are seven full canvass days left from tomorrow – but tonight the seven party leaders are back on television doing battle for your votes.

This time there are two men – Ivan Yates and Matt Cooper – refereeing and trying to do on Virgin TV what one woman managed alone on RTÉ on Monday night. Claire Byrne kept control of seven competing egos vying for public attention and that is the challenge for tonight’s duo of hosts.

Once again, the line up is the outgoing Taoiseach and Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar; Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin; Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald; Labour leader Brendan Howlin; and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan. But there will be two personnel changes from Monday with Solidarity/People Before Profit (S/PBP) represented by Mick Barry, and the Social Democrats by Catherine Murphy.

On Monday night on RTÉ Mary Lou McDonald and Richard Boyd Barrett for S/PBP got the studio audience applause and scored some points. The Taoiseach held his own in a low key way arguing for voter trust and warning that promises cost money – while also trying to downsize nine years’ of Fine Gael-led to the past two when he was Taoiseach.

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Micheál Martin at times looked petulant attacking both Sinn Féin and Fine Gael. He tried to distance himself from government policies while claiming credit for staying in government and also argued Sinn Féin’s economics will “wreck the country.”

On the night Eamon Ryan stayed away from figures, had a broader vision beyond five years on housing and climate – but was less decisive on crime.

Brendan Howlin had plenty of sensible things to say which few would disagree with, and was honest about tax cuts being unlikely. But he floundered in details and had limited impact.

Róisín Shortall was unlucky that little of last Monday’s debate was spent on her strong suit which is health. But her views also seemed quite generic and she was squeezed out.

Tonight, you can expect Fine Gael to continue baiting Fianna Fáil on whether they can be trusted with the economy and whether they have the team depth to manage the next crucial phase of Brexit. From this on, Sinn Féin are increasingly a Fianna Fáil problem.

The Taoiseach has no reason to be friendly towards Ms McDonald but any swing votes he may take from Sinn Féin would be more likely to go back to his main adversaries in Fianna Fáil. So any efforts insinuate that some in Fianna Fáil would in fact share government with Sinn Féin might help Fine Gael.

Mr Martin would do well to push his message about the voters’ need for change and Fine Gael’s failings on health and housing. And he must yet again drive another nail into that would-be door between himself and coalition with Sinn Féin.

Eamon Ryan must try again to stay big picture and stress his interest in rural communities doing better with a smaller system of farm production with an emphasis on quality and organics. For urban voters the core green message on the environment and climate change is the niche his party needs to continually pursue.

Catherine Murphy will seek to hold her ground and stress her anti-corruption record and her party’s good work on a revamped health service. Mick Barry, doing duty for S/PBP, will once again be a rebel questing for a cause but has nothing to lose by giving it loads of volume.

On the cusp of the last week, this one could in fact be a game-changer.

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