The Progressive Democrats will be satisfied with their party conference in Limerick at the weekend. Three months away from the general election, the Tánaiste and party leader, Ms Harney, presided over changes that saw the Attorney General, Mr Michael McDowell, become party president, with general responsibility for policy and rebuilding the organisation.
At the same time, the addition of Mr McDowell and former IFA president, Mr Tom Parlon, as election candidates boosted morale and improved the chances of the party returning to government.
It was very much a set-piece, scripted occasion, lacking the drive and passion that had suffused the membership in the party's formative years. Such a development was probably inevitable, in the context of the party's participation in Coalition Government for the past five years. But much work will have to be done if the membership's aging profile is to be counteracted and new blood introduced.
Conference did provide something of an adrenalin-rush for delegates as Mr McDowell sketched his vision of a low tax, high investment and high employment Progressive Democrats-shaped society and contrasted it with a high-tax, high unemployment society that would emerge if the Labour Party came to power. The choice between the Progressive Democrats and the Labour Party would, he said, decide the character of the next government. In that regard, both Mr McDowell and Ms Harney engaged in a delicate balancing act as they committed the party to an independent election campaign and held out the prospect of a coalition arrangement with either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. They would not, however, participate in a coalition of convenience with parties whose views were hostile to what they believed in.
The recent downturn in the economy has complicated the Progressive Democrats' traditional message. Tax cuts can no longer guarantee growth and the former party leader, Mr Des O'Malley, drew sharp attention to the Coalition Government's current difficulties. Public expenditure rose by 22 per cent in January while tax returns declined by 6 per cent. The situation was, he said, unsustainable. In those circumstances, it was understandable that Fine Gael's offer to compensate Eircom shareholders and Dublin taxi drivers for their losses should come in for criticism.
Ms Harney declared her party would not become involved in auction politics or make reckless promises that would mortgage the country's future. The party would, however, invest heavily in a transport network. It would support regional development and push ahead with deregulation.
It would improve the health services, support local communities and crack down on crime. In other words, until the general election is over, political life will go on much as before. The incoming government will have to grapple with the worsening fiscal situation.