IF elections were decided on the style, tone and presentation of the political parties  manifestoes, the SNP would be a shoo-in for a second term at Holyrood. Its slick magazine-style document boasting the party s achievements, lauding its ministerial team and unveiling 10 key policy objectives, was finally delivered yesterday to the party faithful in the appropriately theatrical setting of the Royal Scottish academy of Music and Drama. Moses delivering his tablets of stone cannot have been better received than alex Salmond.  It was an impressive performance. Like a super salesman, he reeled off sheaths of figures to lure the would-be buyer. Mr Salmond, a natural showman, has an unerring sense of timing. By holding back until after most of the other parties had laid out their political wares, he sought to divert voters  attention away from Westminster, where anti-Tory sentiment is more likely to boost Labour. It also gave him the opportunity to trump some of his opponents  policies, especially those that seem to be gaining traction. So, in place of Labour s two-year council tax freeze, the SNP promise to hold present levels for five years. and in place of the reduction in hospital waiting times for cancer tests, he offered money for earlier cancer diagnosis. By 2020 all of Scotland s electricity will be generated by green energy, he claims. Whether any of this is deliverable in the current climate is for the voter to judge.  The SNP bases its pitch on its track record, its team of ministers and the power of its vision. Yesterday the party s publicity video reeled off achievements ranging from the abolition of bridge tolls to free prescriptions, though many items from its 2007 manifesto were significant by their absence: dumping student debt, the ?2000 hand-out to first-time buyers, local income tax and the independence referendum to name a few. Others, such as 1000 extra police officers, owe more to the Conservatives.  The claim to have helped all of Scotland s citizens, including the poorest, seems to rest largely on the council tax.  Freezing a regressive tax is by definition progressive,  claims Mr Salmond but the poorest 10% do not pay it. arguably, the biggest beneficiaries are the better off, especially as it is also the poorest who rely most on council services. Mr Salmond also claims credit for Scotland s improving unemployment figures, though there are 90,000 more Scots out of wo