New faces are appearing at routine political announcements which are little more than a flag waving exercise.

There’s nothing wrong with a picture opportunity for candidates who’re hopeful of getting elected next March, but their moment in the sun will quickly fade over the horizon if they’re unsuccessful.

It’s all part of a predictable cycle with just over five months until the next election.

The government usually has the upper hand with the daily news cycle, as it also holds the taxpayer purse strings.

Malinauskas forces have been reminding us constantly of where and how the money is being spent in the hope of securing another term which, realistically, is only theirs to lose.

After decades of watching election build ups, this one is different with technology playing its part, especially with enthusiastic young aspirants on social media.

Labor had to correct its well-charted and navigated course after the Deputy Leader and Treasurer suddenly handed back their commissions to the skipper.

Susan Close and Stephen Mullighan were steady hands at the helm, if needed, and gave Premier Malinauskas a wake-up call that “life wasn’t meant to be this easy.”

But that also threw new ministerial faces into the mix at a crucial time where careless mistakes, slips up and banana skin moments won’t be tolerated.

Newbies Lucy Hood, Rhiannon Pearce and elevated minister Emily Bourke were all thrust into a baptism of fire.

Until their sudden promotions, Hood and Pearce would be the nodding heads standing dutifully behind the Premier, relevant ministers and others at media conferences.

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But that’s all changed.

Then it seemed obvious that for a limited, two-week period the Premier or other experienced operators would accompany them into the media fray to hold their hand, in a metaphorical sense.

The newcomers would merely fill in the gaps after the Premier had led proceedings with a clear, concise and confident statement on anything related to transport, the environment, emergency services or sport.

At last week’s announcement into the Gawler line’s changed timetable there was an all-star cast.

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The issue itself was barely a story, other than over an entire week train commuters could expect to carve 20 minutes off their trips into the city and back home again to Gawler.

Yet we saw no fewer than five ministerial attendees at Adelaide Railway station including the Premier and his newly minted transport guru Emily Bourke.

It was blatant electioneering, with a dose of moral support in case Bourke went off the rails, which she didn’t.

Hood and Pearce have received similar support as they stepped into the ministerial shoes for the big dance, including the ‘must not stuff up’ weekly algal bloom media conferences.

But when the reins were loosened the acid test came.

Bourke has taken the hefty infrastructure and transport baton from Labor’s most experienced campaigner Tom Koutsantonis who is accustomed to dealing with any questions.

She may, or may not, feel intimidated at major projects sites such as this week’s public holiday gathering to witness giant concrete beams being lifted into place on the $870 million Glenelg tram project.

She stood alongside three males, including the Infrastructure and Transport CEO Jon Whelan, who was decked out in full high-viz to emphasise the scale of the unfolding project.

Bourke was on her own with no safety net assistance and then had to navigate tricky questions about the new Adelaide Aquatic Centre timeline, which she couldn’t comfortably answer.

She had the same difficulty earlier on ABC breakfast radio.

There was no harm done but one could tell she was happy when the conference wound up.

It will be interesting to follow her progress when seemingly inevitable cost blowouts or delays need to be justified in a portfolio which spends billions of our dollars.

Relatively unknown Labor candidates are a prominent feature at some of these media outings and they’re also being subjected to questions of substance.

My advice to them is to be very well schooled in every aspect of the event you’re attending, as an unexpected ‘gotcha’ moment could prove damaging.

It’s all part of the rich political tapestry of the election prelude.

The Liberals are just as eager to show off their prized recruits but usually need to fight twice as hard to get the same airtime from the Opposition benches.

Is it my imagination or is their star recruit Frank Pangallo backing off since he burst on to the campaign trail as the Lib’s ordained watchdog?

There were certainly rumblings from within that Frank had bitten off more than he could chew, especially with his AI debacle.

So, where are the winners and losers with March approaching faster than some would like.

The Liberals and Pangallo would love to steal back Waite, Mount Gambier and MacKillop which are their only realistic possibilities.

Labor’s gunning for Morphett in the heart of “major infrastructure territory” also confidently grooming the famous family name of Aria Bolkus in Colton.

She’s an everywhere face and is likely to be given unlimited support to take the seaside seat being vacated by outgoing, and perhaps, disenchanted Liberal Matt Cowdrey.

Unley is also a potential win for Labor, but don’t hold your breath.

And will the Greens finally hit pay dirt, who knows?

Labor’s two by-election winners, Cressida O’Hanlon and Alex Dighton, would be unlikely to get toppled given their current grip on government, despite the Libs having blind faith optimism in both seats.

The soon-to-be departed Mullighan and Close will simply hand over the office keys to their Labor replacements in the strong holds of Lee and Port Adelaide.

So, for the Liberals I’m sorry to say that the very best you can hope for is the status quo, which under the party’s post-David Speirs trauma isn’t a bad result.

If so, let’s see who sticks around for the 2030 election.

Not too many I suspect.

Mike Smithson is weekend presenter and political analyst for 7News.