» Views  Singapore parties begin drawing up electoral battle
plans  Publication Date : 21-07-2013   We are reaching the mid-
point of the electoral cycle. For the main political parties,
this means moving from post-2011 introspection to pre-2015/6
positioning. Seen in that light, the recent skirmishes between
the ruling party and the Workers' Party (WP) are interesting for
what they portend for the battle ahead.  The latest dust-up
started with hyperlocal dissatisfaction with the WP-run town
council's handling of hawker centre cleaning. The People's
Action Party (PAP) spotted the opportunity to grow this seed
into weeds of doubts about the opposition party's integrity. Two
WP MPs made "false and untruthful statements" when they insisted
no one in their town council had demanded extra payment for the
cleaning of high areas at two Bedok hawker centres, charged the
government.  Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong himself stepped into
the fray, urging WP chief Low Thia Khiang not to leave
unresolved the "grave doubts"