by RICKY JORDAN

FROM TOMORROW, BOXING DAY, the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) machinery will be in full gear.

Deputy Prime Minister Mia Mottley made the promise on Sunday, as she said the party would be moving from that point "right through the campaign" while looking forward to further interaction with the public.

In a wide-ranging media conference at the BLP's Roebuck Street, The City, headquarters, she said the Government's achievements would be placed before the public through a launch event on Saturday morning, while Senior Minister Dame Billie Miller would brief the public later this week in relation to the BLP campaign schedule and the rollout of documents.

Saying she expected robust comments from members of the Opposition Democratic Labour Party, Mottley said she would support such robustness since candidates needed to argue their case. However, she lamented "the extent to which the DLP has now sought to go in relation to character assassination".

Major challenges

"I can't tell them stop it, but I know I don't define myself by that kind of behaviour," Mottley said, expressing the hope that the parties would "treat to the issues confronting Barbadians", particularly since the coming year would present major challenges.

"While we have done well as a nation, we expect that 2008 will be a challenging year. We've already begun to see the signs of those challenges, and to that extent we will remain focused in relation to how we will speak to the public about what we can do to stabilise Barbados in these turbulent times," she stated.

Mottley said while politicians sometimes got "hot", one had to address the issues which, she added, would include the notion of $750 million in cost overruns advanced by the DLP.

"We're going to deal with that later this week and we're going to put them to the test of that. While there have been some overruns, they are taking figures from the air and bandying them about. Every day there is a different allegation," she said.

She added while the BLP had been tried, tested and proven, the party would not treat the campaign as "a form of light, comedic entertainment for the Barbadian public at a time when serious issues will determine this country's ability to continue to go forward as a leading developing country".

"The BLP cannot run on its record alone," Mottley added, noting the need to sometimes turn the other cheek and remain focused on objectives and committed to one's values.