Supporters of Scottish independence are hoping leader Alex Salmond's performance in a U.S.-style television debate on Tuesday can boost their campaign, which is lagging in opinion polls with only just over six weeks to go before a referendum.
Surveys show opponents of independence holding on to a substantial lead over those who want to end the 307-year union with England, although as many as a quarter of Scotland's 4 million voters have yet to decide.
The televised debate, the first of the campaign, pits Salmond, leader of the pro-independence Scottish National Party, against Alistair Darling, head of the "Better Together" anti-independence campaign.
Darling was finance minister in the last British Labour government that was led by fellow Scot and "No" campaigner Gordon Brown.
Pundits say Salmond, 59, the most senior politician in Scotland's devolved government and driving force behind the independence movement, is favourite to win the two-hour debate, despite the gap in the polls, because of his rhetorical skills.
Darling, 60, is widely viewed as a safe and steady, if uninspiring representative for the Better Together campaign, although he and the Labour party command considerable authority in Scotland.
The latest opinion poll, by Survation, showed that 46 percent of voters would back the "No" campaign against secession and 40 percent would vote in favour, with 14 percent undecided. Some polls show up to a quarter undecided.
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