HALIFAX — Nova Scotia Premier Rodney MacDonald calmly deflected a string of pointed questions Thursday as his two main rivals in the June 13 election zeroed in on a lingering cabinet scandal and his hefty spending plans.

NDP Leader Darrell Dexter and Liberal Leader Francis MacKenzie tried to put the telegenic premier on the defensive early in a 60-minute debate, but MacDonald simply returned to a script that emphasized the positive while providing few policy details.

"I'm very proud of our record,'' MacDonald, a former professional fiddler and gym teacher, said repeatedly during the CBC-televised debate when asked about everything from job creation to education funding.

"I'm going to talk about everything that's right.''

Dexter, a former journalist and lawyer from Halifax, quickly set the tone for the evening by hammering away at the premier over a questionable government loan that resulted in the resignation of a cabinet minister.

"This really shook confidence in your government,'' Dexter said. "Let me ask you this question: you have never said why it is the minister had to resign.''

MacDonald, 34, brushed off the question and changed the subject like an old political pro.

"The reality is that we have a record here in Nova Scotia that we can be proud of,'' he said. "Over 40,000 new jobs have been created, we have record employment levels here in our province and we need to move forward . . .''

Dexter pressed again: "You never answered the question, Mr. MacDonald.''

But the Conservative premier forged ahead, unfazed and refusing to let his opponents get him rattled.

"I'm focused on the future, not about the past. I want to move this province forward,'' he said.

MacKenzie, a former salesman and provincial bureaucrat, then took aim at the premier with his common refrain that the Tories have yet to produce a fully costed platform.

"What is your plan for farmers? What is your plan for closed fish plants? What is your plan to move this province forward?,'' the Liberal leader said during his first election debate.

Through it all, the premier's lack of experience didn't show.

Pundits said MacDonald, largely untested and little known since becoming Tory leader in February, had to avoid gaffes and rise above the cut-and-thrust of his first-ever debate _ and he did just that.

"It was a very advantageous evening for the premier,'' said David Johnson, a political science professor at Cape Breton University.

"The premier was certainly able to stand and debate himself and he was very calm, cool and collected and was able to beat back the attacks.''

In one of the evening's few scrappy moments, MacKenzie seized on the NDP's record in Ontario under then-premier Bob Rae and accused Dexter of not presenting a full financial plan with only 11 days left before the vote.

"What concerns me about the NDP is not always necessarily what they say, but what they don't say,'' MacKenzie said. "The NDP in Ontario just about single-handedly wrecked that province.''

"Surely Mr. MacKenzie you can do better than shop-worn rhetoric,'' Dexter shot back.

One analyst said the exchanges gave MacKenzie an edge on his rivals as he steadily chipped away at their platforms while forcefully conveying his party's message.

"I was surprised at the strength of the Liberal leader's performance and a bit surprised that the premier was a little laid back,'' said Jeff MacLeod of Mount Saint Vincent University.<

Party insiders hoped the campaign's only debate would inspire an electorate that has seemed unmoved by the slew of spending promises and tax cuts that have been trotted out over the last several weeks.

Polling has put the three contenders in a near dead heat.

Voters who watched the debate in the studio audience came away saying each leader succeeded in getting their message out.

"The debate was a deciding factor,'' Judith Richardson said. "I think (MacDonald) stuck to the questions more than the others.''

Bill Kydd, who was invited to ask a question about the premier's fiscal plans, said the Tories risk sending the province back into the red with a budget and election platform opponents say is well over $1 billion.

"We have to get that debt down and it seems in this campaign that has had a very low priority,'' he said, adding that the event did little to make up his mind.

All three parties have been criticized for making big spending promises, and ignoring the province's $12.4-billion debt.

When the topic came up, both MacDonald and MacKenzie turned on Dexter, suggesting the NDP could not be trusted to handle the province's finances.

Dexter stressed that his party won't return the province to a deficit, while MacKenzie said the Tories have moved from being fiscal conservatives "to very quickly to the left and being a large social spender.''

The standings in the legislature at dissolution were: Conservatives, 25; NDP, 15; Liberals, 10; Independent, 1; vacancies, 1.