If the Taoiseach is playing his cards close to his chest on his nomination for the Commission, his counterpart here, the Commission President-designate, Mr Romano Prodi, is no less of a poker player.
Despite a proliferation of rumours about the potential nominees of the member-states, not a word has emerged about the allocation of individual portfolios.
Sources in Brussels say that Mr Ahern has indicated an Irish interest in three of the spending dossiers - agriculture, regional affairs, and social policy - but given no indication yet of who might be nominated by Dublin.
But Commission veterans confess to being puzzled by the request. They point out that, with Agenda 2000 in place and rules governing funding more transparent, the discretion of such commissioners to look favourably on Irish projects is far more limited.
The time has perhaps come, they suggest, for Ireland, as a prospective net contributor to the EU, to look further afield and change the "me fein" image of the Irish in the Union. Mr Ahern is likely, moreover, to be asked to be specific about potential names when he and Mr Prodi talk again in the middle of next week.
And Mr Prodi has already made clear to several governments that some of the names being mentioned were not of sufficient political standing or experience, and also that he will not hesitate to use his Amsterdam Treaty prerogative to get a proper gender and political balance.
Both gender and political balances are a serious problem. Currently there are between four and six potential women nominees being spoken of, including one from Ireland. With the Irish commissioner certain to be drawn from the ranks of the centre right, and thus already helping to provide political balance, pressure on the Taoiseach from Mr Prodi is most likely to be on the gender issue.
And what of the jobs? Mr Prodi made clear in his speech to leaders at Cologne that he wanted to see a thorough reform of many portfolios, and his allocation of specific responsibilities for relations with the Parliament (and a special new Citizens Europe service) and internal reform of the Commission (taking in the budget, personnel and the fight against fraud) to the two vice-presidents will significantly raise their standing.
At least one of the two jobs will probably go to a small member-state, and the former is more likely to go to a member of one of the two large parties, the Socialists or EPP, rather than to a Fianna Fail nominee.
The Taoiseach would be unlikely to be able to propose a candidate with sufficient experience for any of the external relations dossiers - foreign policy, trade, development and enlargement - unless he went outside his own party.
My guess: Maire Geoghegan-Quinn for justice and home affairs, a brief that is expanding in the wake of the Amsterdam Treaty's incorporation of the Schengen Treaty and the strengthening of co-operation between member-states in the fight against crime.