Kenny Farquharson: Where are Scotland's bright young things?

WHEN pub talk about politics turns to who will win the Holyrood election, there's a phrase that keeps cropping up in the conversation.

It's used by my Nationalist friends and it's a clincher, winning the argument every time. Irrespective of the merits of the SNP's first term in power, regardless of the broken promises and missed opportunities, they say: "Yes, but would you really prefer to have Richard Baker as Justice Secretary instead of Kenny MacAskill?"

It's a fair point. I'm sure Richard Baker - he's Scottish Labour's shadow justice minister, in case you were wondering - is a fine fellow and a gifted politician. But he does look as if his mother dresses him every morning. Natural authority is not, shall we say, his strongest personal asset. And he doesn't seem to have been shaving for very long. I'm sure Baker has many hidden talents, but does he have the substance and heft to be Scotland's equivalent of Home Secretary? Ah hae ma doots, and I'm not alone.

There's been a lot of talk about how the Holyrood election will be a presidential-style battle between Alex Salmond and Iain Gray. There's no doubt that's true. But as polling day approaches, the respective merits of the two frontbench teams will come increasingly into focus, and this poses potential problems for both parties.

The Nationalists' difficulty is that the judgment of almost every member of the Scottish Cabinet has been called into serious question over the past three and a half years. Last week we saw John Swinney forced into a humiliating apology for keeping information from parliament on a key aspect of Scotland's financial powers. Nicola Sturgeon was forced into a similar Holyrood mea culpa over her gushing support for a constituent, Abdul Rauf, who had been convicted of a 80,000 post office fraud. Kenny MacAskill's decision to free Scotland's most notorious mass murderer on compassionate grounds remains contentious, to say the least. Alex Salmond's robust personal intervention into the planning process deciding the fate of the Trump golf course was intensely disliked by the electorate - just ask any SNP activist who has chapped doors and discussed the issue with voters. As for the abilities of Fiona Hyslop, just ask the First Minister - he demoted her from Education Secretary when she proved incapable of delivering key SNP manifesto promises on new schools, class sizes and school meals.

That's some list. But the SNP cabinet benefits from having big personalities in most of the big jobs. Labour's top team, in contrast, does not. There are some fine people in the shadow cabinet - in particular, Pauline McNeill's promotion to the front line is long overdue. But although Des McNulty, Johann Lamont, Sarah Boyack and Jackie Baillie served as ministers in previous administrations, they didn't leave a dent in the public's consciousness.Perhaps the most recognisable figure on the Labour front bench is Andy Kerr, the former finance minister, but the gossip at Holyrood is that he may soon be heading for the back benches.

The SNP has another advantage - the Salmond 'n' Sturgeon ticket. It's a curious personal dynamic, but it works - the veteran bruiser and his feisty heir apparent. If Salmond was to suffer a serious pie-related injury that put him out of action, the SNP would have a credible deputy waiting to step up. Gray cannot offer the electorate the same political package. His deputy is Johann Lamont, a serious politician with a proven record in difficult areas such as anti-social behaviour, but no-one's idea of a deputy first minister.

(Incidentally, the one to watch on the Labour benches is the wily Tom McCabe, who suffers from a Mandelsonian image problem as an icy prince of darkness, but who is a top-drawer political operator. A possible replacement for Kerr?)

Labour's personnel problems are compounded by the fact that Westminster offers an alternative career path. Margaret Curran and Cathy Jamieson have already taken the low road south, and the word is that John Park - the likeable young Fife MSP tipped as a future first minister - is being lined up for Gordon Brown's Westminster seat, once the former PM decides it's time to move on. It's also noticeable that the brightest of the younger generation of Scottish Labour politicians - people like the impressive Tom Greatrex - have chosen to be MPs not MSPs.

For obvious reasons, Westminster does not offer ambitious young Nationalists the possibility of ministerial office, so their sights are set on Holyrood. But still, the talent available to Salmond is less than impressive. If he wanted to refresh his team who would he bring in? Is he really big enough to give a job to Roseanna Cunningham, the woman whose strong bid for the SNP leadership in 2004 was the catalyst for Salmond coming out of his cosy Westminster retirement for a second stint as SNP top dog? I don't think so.

The reality for both Salmond and Gray is the lack of a second-tier of talent at Holyrood. There simply isn't an impressive new generation of Scottish MSPs ready to step up into the big time. That's a sad thing to report. This parliament was hard-won, and should be a showcase for the best the nation can offer. But it's the truth.

Asked to choose between the two front benches now, I've no doubt most Scots would pick the Nat team over the Labour team. That's despite the list of crimes and misdemeanours I listed earlier. Somehow they come across as more vivid and appealing as a group of people than the Labour lot. No doubt that is simply a question of familiarity. But can the Labour team charm the voters in the next five months? We're about to find out.