Mr Michael Noonan's second public outing as leader of Fine Gael was not as commanding as his first. The new front bench to change Fine Gael's fortunes was presented in a low-key ceremony in the National Concert Hall yesterday where the line-up, at first glance, was more glaring for the omission of his opponent in the leadership contest, Mr Enda Kenny, than the inclusion of any of the new members. "There is no personal animus in this at all", Mr Noonan claimed. "I am trying to heal the party".
It has been the political convention in all the main parties - Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and Labour - that the loser in a leadership election is assured a prominent position in the wake of a divisive heave. In spite of a very poor performance in the campaign for leadership, Mr Kenny secured 40 per cent of the votes of the Fine Gael parliamentary party. But Mr Noonan has broken with that precedent.
Notwithstanding that, the purge of the old guard carried out yesterday fell far short of Mr Albert Reynolds's clear sweep of Fianna Fail stalwarts in early 1992. It came as no surprise that the man he had sought to oust, Mr John Bruton, was not invited to join the new team. Mr Noonan pointed out that at least six people who had supported Mr Bruton in the recent leadership challenge were retained on the front bench. Nor was there surprise that the former deputy leader, Mrs Nora Owen, was dropped. She was too closely aligned with the Bruton years. And in the fashioning of a new front bench with seven fewer members Mr Bernard Allen, Mr Paul Connaughton, Mr Denis Naughten and Ms Avril Doyle and Senator Maurice Manning lost their places at the top table.
Mr Noonan set out to use "the mixed talents of the party" on his new slimmed-down front bench. He sought to balance youth and experience, gender and geography. He promoted five newcomers to that end: Ms Olivia Mitchell, Mr Michael Creed, Mr Paul Bradford, Mr Dinny McGinley and Mr Gerry Reynolds. Some of them are unknown and untested on the national stage. They are more rural than urban. They have served as spokespersons, some without particular distinction, before.
For all that, Mr Noonan has made an innovative move in appointing Mr Jim Mitchell as Fine Gael spokesman on Finance. He applied himself to the post of chairman of the Public Accounts Committee and the DIRT inquiry with great zeal. He, of all the leadership candidates, was brimful of ideas about reforming the political system. He was shown to be the first choice of voters for the position of leader of the party in two recent opinion polls. He should bring a fresh approach to Finance issues in the Dail.
Mr Noonan has taken some risks - unnecessary in Mr Kenny's case - with his appointments to the new front bench. Time will tell whether he has picked the best team to revitalise Fine Gael. What is clear is that the most difficult task lies ahead. The outgoing front bench was not a unified force in opposition politics. There were many under-performers. The policy profile of the party was confused and often dull. The approach on many fronts was amateur.
There is, nonetheless, an air of change in Fine Gael and in the balance of forces in the Dail. Mr Noonan set out the demarcation lines between Fine Gael and the other major parties on the day he won the leadership. He produced the best front bench that he could muster in the circumstances yesterday. It remains to be seen how it will perform.