But critics know better than to take the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) veteran lightly.

The lawyer-turned-politician has a track record of beating seemingly impossible odds in his chequered career which spans some three decades.

And he is giving his all to pull off his biggest comeback yet to clinch the top post.

While some polls gave his rival, the opposition Kuomintang's (KMT) Mr Ma Ying-jeou, a huge lead of more than 20 percentage points, local media reported yesterday that the latest DPP poll - which has proven in the past to be more accurate than other surveys - showed that Mr Hsieh is trailing by only 6 percentage points.

This despite the fact that the odds are stacked against 62-year-old Hsieh.

His party's failure in managing the economy over the past eight years has triggered a groundswell of public disgruntlement.

A string of graft scandals implicating DPP heavyweights - including Mr Hsieh himself - has also eroded support for the party which swept to power in 2000 pledging to eradicate corruption.

However, Mr Hsieh's much-touted campaigning skills and his knack for turning the tide in his favour have fuelled hope among his supporters.

The fact that he has come so far in the race is a classic example of why he has been billed as the DPP's best brain.

With no official party position and little resources at his disposal, he scored a surprise victory against DPP's star politician Su Tsengchang, who was the hot favourite to win the party's presidential nomination.

His success was largely attributed to an effective campaign which exploited factional rivalry to his advantage.

That was just one of several comebacks Mr Hsieh, a DPP founding member, has staged in his career. He ran but lost in Taiwan's first presidential election in 1996 as a vice-presidential candidate with Mr Peng Ming-min on the DPP ticket. His career was almost derailed when he was alleged to have received political donations from a cult leader who was convicted of fraud.

Yet he came from behind to win the 1998 mayoral race in southern Kaohsiung city by defeating the KMT incumbent Wu Den-yih.

He attributed his tenacity to his difficult childhood. To help ease the load of his debt-ridden parents, the former champion school gymnast had to collect scrap metal and sell snacks when he was young.

It was during his mayorship in Kaohsiung, Taiwan's second-largest city, that his achievement shone.

He was widely credited for transforming the polluted Love River into a scenic tourist attraction. He spruced up the port city, giving it a modern skyline which rivals that of capital Taipei.

During his term, he also oversaw the construction of the city subway. But the project, which was partially opened to the public on Sunday after some delay, was tainted by graft scandals.

Mr Hsieh took much of the credit even though some of the projects were initiated by his predecessors. When he left the post in 2005, he was ranked top in an annual governance poll by Commonwealth magazine, beating Mr Ma who was then Taipei mayor.

'Mr Hsieh has done a good job publicising his achievements. The general impression is that he was a more dynamic mayor than Mr Ma,' said Professor Shih Cheng-feng of the National Dong Hwa University.

But that may not be enough to convince voters to give his party another chance following eight years of dismal governance record.

The seasoned campaigner has tried to distance himself from unpopular President Chen Shui-bian, in a bid to prove that he is a different man who would reform the DPP.

In a departure from Mr Chen's confrontational style, he has advocated 'reconciliation' and 'co-existence' among Taiwan's rival parties.

And unlike Mr Chen, he has pledged to allow direct air links with China and roll out the red carpet for mainland tourists.

But cracks have begun to show in his campaign as time is running out for Mr Hsieh who still lags behind his opponent.

For a man who preached 'co-existence', he has resorted to a negative campaign, digging up dirt on Mr Ma and his family.

For someone who pledged easing cross-strait economic restrictions, he has increasingly played the 'China fear' card.

If Chinese labour invades Taiwan, 'Taiwanese men would run out of jobs and Taiwanese women out of husbands', said Mr Hsieh.