Without any burst of fanfare, the Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats Coalition slipped seamlessly back into office on this day a year ago.
Mr Bertie Ahern and Ms Mary Harney had won a second term, making their way into the history books as leaders of the first outgoing government to be returned since 1969 and the first Coalition Government ever to be re-elected. But a year is a long time in politics as they are learning now. The initiative has been lost.
Their first year back in office, their sixth in power, has been more spectacular for its lows than its highs. The perception has taken hold that Fianna Fáil, in particular, conned the electorate in last year's general election and all attempts to challenge it - like the publication of the Government's glossy 80-page Progress Report this week - have backfired. The charge that the Coalition won power on the basis of false promises has assumed the status of fact. And the opinion polls - where the levels of dissatisfaction with the Government and the Taoiseach have reached all-time lows - bear this out. The graph is moving steadily in the wrong direction.
The health issue has been restored to the top of the political agenda with scare stories dominating the headlines in the last year. And, notwithstanding the 50 per cent increase in the health budget over five years and the much-hyped publication of the Health Strategy, the service for patients seems to have got worse. Three more reports are scheduled for publication in the next couple of weeks with no public expectation that root-and-branch reform will be undertaken.
There is no confidence either that there will be major improvements in the State's infrastructure. The task is being handled piecemeal with much-needed projects being put on the long finger. And on the economic front, a disturbingly high level of job losses are being announced each week while the costs of basic living continue to climb.
On the positive side, the Fianna Fáil/PD Government has succeeded in ramming through the second Nice referendum. Social partnership has been renewed. The Taoiseach made valiant efforts to strike a comprehensive deal to fully implement the Belfast Agreement and prevent the postponement of the Northern elections. There are signs also that public spending is being controlled.
For all of that, the Coalition has lost any sense of mission. There is a lack of clarity on combined goals. The message comes too frequently in sound-bite size. Members of both parties seem to meander aimlessly from one mini-crisis to another. Too many ministers are time-servers taking up Cabinet seats. The doers who work to enable things to get done are in single figures.The aura of arrogance that comes with being too long in government is evident already. The best thing that the Government has going for it is the lack of a sharp, cohesive opposition. A year in office today, it is a case of very little done, a lot more to do.