IN APPOINTING Mr John O'Donoghue as Minister for Justice, in an enlarged Department including Equality and Law Reform, the new Taoiseach has shown unexpected confidence in the Kerry solicitor.
Even though Mr Ahern declared earlier this year that Mr O'Donoghue would be his Minister for Justice when Fianna Fail came to power, many observers thought Mr Dermot Ahern a more likely candidate.
Mr O'Donoghue was successful as opposition Justice spokesman over two years, but he embarrassed his party leader with a solo run" call for an abortion referendum as the election approached, and raised fears within the party that his mouth might move even faster than his brain in a crisis.
But he jumped the hurdle and continued his dogged pursuit of the last government over its record in tackling crime, reciting with ever growing enthusiasm the party's "zero tolerance" policy mantra during the campaign.
It was a clever ploy. Mr O'Donoghue's question to critics was: what level of crime is tolerable? It was a question which, once asked, could not be unasked and yet could not be answered. In the heat of an election campaign the nuances of arguments about the value of a garda or a judge's discretion could not compete against Mr O'Donoghue's tough stance.
The Garda Commissioner, Mr Pat Byrne, publicly questioned Mr O'Donoghue's first suggestions of "zero tolerance", and resisted the idea that his force should implement every law equally. But Fianna Fail has since modified its interpretation of the phrase; zero tolerance now means an initial zero tolerance of illegal drugs, a charter Mr Byrne will not find hard to sign.
The confidence shown by the new Taoiseach in Mr O'Donoghue will be important to his success. As Mrs Nora Owen learned when her prison building programme was delayed, Ministers for Justice particularly in coalition governments often fight their most important battles across the Cabinet table.
Mr O'Donoghue has a forceful manner on television and radio, displaying a keenness in arguments for scoring minor political (and often historical) points. But the Justice Department is the home of bad news and banana skins. The criminal justice system throws up all sorts of unexpected crises, and Mr O'Donoghue will need to project an air of authority to overcome them.
He comes to office with a long list of promises to deliver, including 2,000 new prison spaces and 1,200 more gardai.
A priority will be to maintain the State's pressure on the drug gangs resulting from the murder of Ms Veronica Guerin a year ago. One of the first items on his desk will be a review of the Garda.
Having apparently persuaded the electorate that the State is overrun with criminals, he now has the challenging task of convincing the same public, from today, that the forces of law and order are in control.