The Conservative strategy for this snap election has quickly become clear: it is about personalities rather than politics. The Tories are convinced that Theresa May’s record- high approval ratings will carry her to a landslide victory on 8 June.

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Weighed against the perceived unpopularity of Jeremy Corbyn, the calculation is that May’s carefully constructed public persona will carry her to coronation, though this plan seems to hinge on making the prime minister as inconspicuous as possible.

That there will be no live TV debates and only limited dealings with non-Tory voters will protect May’s policies and personality from any real scrutiny, but, let’s face it, she has all the warmth of a wet weekend in Whitstable.

May looks as if she would rather be anywhere but around real people. She may well be perfectly nice in real life but the Tories are keeping her locked away, only letting her out briefly to repeat her robotic mantras.

Last week, while Corbyn and his team were out facing the public and media, May was hiding in a forest in rural Scotland. She spoke to 200 party faithful in a hall so remote that the few journalists who were able to make the journey were not able to tweet or broadcast. Yesterday, journalists were shut in a room to stop them filming her trip to Cornwall and she then spoke at a council estate in Bristol but invited only Tory loyalists, while the estate’s residents were left hoping to get a glimpse of our “strong and stable” PM.

In football, it would be called parking the bus: don’t worry too much about scoring or getting into the opposition’s half, just don’t mess up.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest The prime minister on a visit to Captain Shaw’s Church of England primary school in Bootle, Cumbria, in February. Photograph: Jack Hill/The Times/PA

But there is danger for the Tories in playing personality politics – Corbyn is actually likable. He may not be the greatest orator, sometimes stressing the wrong word in a sentence or stumbling over his Autocue, and he may not deliver media-managed soundbites with the ease that the PM does, but he is good with the public.

Corbyn is most at ease when talking to real people. He is, at heart, a campaigner. Since coming to Parliament in 1983, he’s become used to being on the right side of history but the wrong side of public opinion. Whether on apartheid, LGBT rights, race relations or the Iraq war, Corbyn is very used to taking up positions that are not popular, and then arguing for them until they are.

His style of leadership is one that welcomes debate and dissent. Speaking at an event at his former university, London Metropolitan, at the weekend, Corbyn said: “Whereas insecure leaders want to feel stronger by asking you to give them more power, I recognise strong leadership as equipping you with more power.”

It must be quite hard to stage-manage a man who is so used to walking his own path. Even when a set agenda is laid out for him, there’s a danger of him dropping the politician and drifting into being human. At the weekend he also visited Battersea in south London and spoke to the party faithful and the media. One woman asked him a pre-arranged question about rights for renters and, much to the chagrin of his handlers, after answering he decided to chat with her about her life, how her work as a psychologist was going and what her views on mental health care were.

For a nation that has grown used to politicians of all sides working from the same political playbook, Corbyn genuinely offers something different. He is a politician who isn’t driven by ego and ambition but instead by a desire to improve the lives of British people.

“I’ve seen prime ministers and leaders of the opposition come and go, but for all their achievements and failures, what I didn’t see was a sustained attempt to rid this country of what really holds people back. I never heard a clear invitation for everyone in the country to work together and create a real alternative to our rigged economy,” he explained.

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The flipside of the personality-based election campaign in which policies are just background music is that any slip or stumble runs the risk of cementing perceived failings in the public’s minds. Being properly prepared and appearing on top of your brief will be as important as ever, but proving you are human and brave enough to present your arguments for public scrutiny may prove more attractive than the Tory focus groups have suggested.

Many British voters are election-weary. They are tired of making decisions, and the Tories are expecting to rubber-stamp their government and secure their grip on power. This arrogance may make it harder to get their vote out on 8 June. It may also stop the Tories feeling the need to engage. “The Conservatives are more than happy with this state of affairs. Apathy and resignation will secure them seats on election day,” Corbyn said.

In a world that values decisiveness over debate and hankers after simple answers to complex questions, it remains to be seen whether Corbyn’s personality will shine through and connect.

One thing he will certainly not be doing is hiding.