This time there is to be no mistake. The memory of 1992 and the failed attempt to form a coalition government with the Labour Party is a stone in Fine Gael's shoe. Back then, Fianna Fail stole their rightful place in government for two years with a shock deal. But it won't happen again.
Thus, seven months before a predicted June general election, John Bruton laid out his stall for Ruairi Quinn's consideration. It was not, the Fine Gael leader explained, the last word. They would revise policies as a consultation process took place within the party. And they would invite experts in a range of disciplines to draw up action plans for government.
The key concern was that Fine Gael should, after the formation of government, "hit the ground running". They didn't want to waste the first months in government discussing how and when they would do what had been promised. They wanted to get straight into the implementation phase the morning after ministers received their seals of office.
The cost of the package came within a whisper of the £3 billion the Labour Party had proposed to spend over three years, but without any downside. Fine Gael would not only spend the money, but would continue to cut income tax and save for future pension needs.
Richard Bruton estimated the party would spend £2.2 billion over four years, the bulk of it on health, child benefit and education. But then he explained that, because it would take about a year to set up the programmes, most of the money would be spent in three years. And, he added, a further £630 million would be devoted to public housing on the capital side. A total of £2,845 million.
Michael Noonan provided reassurance that this spending spree was well within our means. It was based on predictions that economic growth would continue at 5 to 6 per cent for the next five years, or even 10 years. If those targets were met, then the package was well within our means. It would allow the government to run a substantial budget surplus while continuing to give significant tax reliefs.
Who would fight with him? Certainly not the Labour Party, other than on detail. And Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats have produced spending plans for next year which are in the same ball-park.
General election fever is catching. First there was Mary Harney, rallying supporters at her party conference for what could be a last stand under the PD flag. Then Charlie McCreevy produced the biggest government spending estimates in history. And yesterday John Bruton talked about a June election. The temperature of the body politic is rising.
Apart from a multitude of spending proposals, Fine Gael promised effective administration. The present Government - and particularly Bertie Ahern - was portrayed as stuck in gear, unwilling to go forward and unable to go back. Indecision was their hallmark, and the result was a series of bottlenecks that was choking the economy and damaging the quality of life for everyone.
The party identified four big ideas on which it would campaign: affordable housing, improved transport, basic medical care and the needs of children. But its Plan for the Nation was far more than that, encompassing a traditional election manifesto, with something for everyone in the audience. Many commitments in the 68-page booklet were aspirational, for some foggy period this side of 2010. But integrated planning was at its core.
Fine Gael presented itself as an engineer who would get rid of bottlenecks through integrated planning. Rapid rail systems would serve new towns and villages and the specially designated growth cities it had already identified. High-density housing would complement transport services. And health services and childcare would be priorities.
As might be expected in an election manifesto, the Coalition Government was to blame for society's ills. As a "Celtic Snail" it was not willing to address the reform agenda and now represented "the single biggest barrier to a decent quality of life". The major bottlenecks, from transport and housing to health, were controlled by the Government, and indecision and prevarication marked its behaviour.
John Bruton put the boot in. Three Ministers were responsible for transport, while two Ministers dealt with children and the family. The systems were a mess. What was needed was coherence and decision-making. But you wouldn't get that from Bertie Ahern: the man who couldn't make up his mind about Ray Burke, about Denis Foley or about John Ellis.
Sounds like a general election all right.