Who will call the shots in Scots parties' ballot battle?

But even politicians realise voters are bound to get bored if they start electioneering too soon, so they will wait until parliament is dissolved on March 31 to start the campaign proper on April 1 - all too appropriately, some may say.

By then, the parties should all have their manifestos drawn up, their campaign ads ready to roll and their soundbites well rehearsed. But whose faces will feature in the build-up to polling day?

Scottish Parliament elections produce a unique dilemma for all the parties about how high a profile they allow their UK leaders in an election which really has nothing to do with them.

Despite being born in Edinburgh and later educated at Fettes, Tony Blair never seems comfortable during his visits to Scotland.

And if he can find it in him to trust his Scottish colleagues to run their own show, he might confine his appearances to one or two flying visits north of the Border to lend support.

First Minister Jack McConnell is predicted to run a presidential-style campaign, eager to get his own mandate from the electorate after the turbulent first term of the parliament where he came to the job only after the untimely death of Donald Dewar and the forced resignation of Henry McLeish.

Iain Duncan Smith - also born in Edinburgh - has used visits to Scotland, and Glasgow’s Easterhouse in particular, to promote "caring conservatism" to the rest of the party.

Although the Tory leader is now widely seen as damaged goods - lacking in charisma, confused over tax policy and lacklustre in his speeches - party managers in Scotland say a recent visit to the north-east, where he met fishermen ahead of the Brussels decision to cut quotas, was a huge success, with IDS getting across the message that the Tories were the fishermen’s friends.

But the same managers insist any visits by the UK leader will from now on be as the "supporting act" for Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie.

Mr McLetchie is one of the best speakers in the parliament - he won the Debater of the Year award last month - but his performance in the chamber has made little impact on the party’s poor poll rating and he will need to use the campaign to appeal more directly to the voters. The Tories have no expectation of being anywhere near government after the elections, but the sneak preview of their advertising agency’s ideas at the weekend suggests they are prepared to fight hard nevertheless.

Former SNP leader Alex Salmond has not been an MSP since last year’s General Election when he opted for Westminster instead, but he is still a powerful presence in the party.

And when it comes to campaigns and TV appearances, the party will find it difficult to resist making maximum use of one of Scotland’s best political performers.

The SNP insists John Swinney, who took over as leader from Mr Salmond more than two years ago, will be fronting its election campaign with other members of the frontbench team, Nicola Sturgeon, Mike Russell and Roseanna Cunningham.

But Mr Swinney has struggled to break out from the Salmond shadow and there seems little doubt the old leader - who has said he hopes to return to the Scottish Parliament in 2007 - will be taking a key role again come the campaign.

Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats also plan to make the most of the popularity of their UK leader, Charles Kennedy.

As an MP with a Scottish constituency, Mr Kennedy should have more feel for Scottish issues than Mr Blair or IDS, but again he has to be careful not to upstage Scottish Lib Dem leader Jim Wallace.

The parties all face a tricky balancing act in using UK figures while maintaining the Scottish character of the election. And when the votes are counted, there’s another problem - who takes the blame and who shares the credit?