Shadow Finance Minister Patricia Gordon-Pamplin had two tasks to accomplish when she delivered the Budget Reply for the first time on Friday. For the most part, she accomplished both.

The first was to lay out an alternative financial and economic strategy to that of Finance Minister Paula Cox, and in doing so to convince voters that the United Bermuda Party could manage the public finances and the economy better than the Government. This she mostly did, in a strong speech that exposed some of the current Government?s weaknesses and showed where the Government?s often ambitious language failed to match reality.

The second task was to prove she was an suitable successor to succeed Grant Gibbons, whom few would dispute was an able Shadow Finance Minister ? and previously Minister ? regardless of whatever faults he may have had as Opposition Leader. Indeed, it was somewhat surprising that he was not kept on as Shadow Finance Minister by Wayne Furbert, but it would appear all were keen for him to make a clean break.

Nonetheless, he casts a long shadow, and Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin did well to show she was as able as her predecessor ? but different as well. That was a difficult task because Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin, who clearly has great respect for Dr. Gibbons, does not want to be seen as his puppet.

That?s unlikely, not least because her style is quite different. Her speech was less detail oriented than her predecessor?s and zeroed in on a number of social issues, notably housing, health care, seniors and education. All of these are red meat issues for the UBP, not least because the Government has struggled to solve them in seven years in power.

Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin (or her advisors) also seems to have a decent turn of phrase, which may help her in the age of the sound bite. ?Spin and spend? is a useful turn for a Government whose ambitious language too often exposes rather than hides its less impressive accomplishments.

On that point too, Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin showed she had done her homework as she questioned how the increase in a prescription drug benefit could assist seniors who only get two free doctors? visit a year.

Perhaps the best measure of the success of Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin?s Reply lay in Ms Cox?s response, since the most notable criticism she had (admittedly made humorously) was to suggest she had changed her hairstyle to emulate her.

In fact Ms Cox devoted most of her rebuttal on Friday to reply to Dr. Gibbons? criticisms from later in the debate in a speech which mainly exposed more of her own insecurities.

This suggests that Ms Cox and the Government see Dr. Gibbons as the power behind the throne. But that?s a strategy that could backfire if the normally moderate Ms Cox cannot control her temper and is reduced to accusing him of being a closet racist.

It also provides the Opposition with a useful ?good cop-bad cop? strategy in which Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin can support Mr. Furbert?s strategy of reducing confrontation while taking the political middle ground while Dr. Gibbons throws darts from the side.

There is, as stated, risk in this, especially if Dr. Gibbons appears to dominate the debate. This was not quite the case on Friday, when his speech complemented Mrs. Gordon-Pamplin?s Reply. And if Ms Cox wants to spend time and emotion attacking Dr. Gibbons, then that only assists the UBP as it moves to show that it is moving away from the confrontational politics of the past.